Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams take Australian Open crowns

After a compelling two weeks Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams took the men’s and ladies crowns at Flinders Park in Melbourne.

Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova in straight sets and has defeated her in sixteen of the eighteen times they have played each other. This Grand Slam win also lifted her to nineteen Grand Slam wins which is only a couple short of Steffi Graf.

Djokovic and Williams start as favourites for the Australian Open

Australian Open begins

The Australian Open takes place in Melbourne and is the first of the four Grand Slams to be held each year with the other three held in Paris, London and New York. The tournament was first held in 1905 and up until 1988 was played on grass before the change to a hard court. The finals are held in the Rod Laver Arena. Roger Federer, Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic have won the title a record four times and Margaret Court has won the Ladies title a record eleven times.