Fortunately, during the 80s the leading players began to realise what a fabulous beginning to the year this tournament was, and although the chuntering about it being too early in the year still surfaces from time to time, the success of Andre Agassi, towards the autumn of his career, and now Roger Federer has placed it firmly on a par with the other three. It is no longer the poor man’s slam, and long may it be played in January during the school summer holiday. The proposed move to switch it to March was preposterous and has rightly died a death.One of the consequences of the Australian Open being played so quickly after the off-season of November and December is that it puts a premium on those players who train the most assiduously, when others might be inclined to rest up a little longer and enjoy Christmas and the family that little bit more. Tim Henman’s failure to ever get past the fourth round in Melbourne, the only slam he failed to do so, may be blamed on his lack of preparation. That is not to say he was not fit, merely that he might have been fitter.Agassi was always a demon trainer, with Gil Reyes, his profoundly loyal friend and trainer, making sure he arrived here as fit as the proverbial butcher’s dog. The same applies to Federer, who prepares in Dubai with equal assiduity. Indeed the outstanding fitness of the Swiss is one of the least considered aspects of his astounding 12 major titles in the last 18 slams.As each year goes by, tennis players train harder and harder, and on the men’s side this has led to numerous surprises here in recent years, the latest being France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, whose success follows on the heels of Chile’s Fernando Gonz�lez last year, Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus two years ago, and before that Rainer Sch�ettler of Germany, and Arnaud Cl�ment, also of France.Federer mentioned here that the public could relate to always seeing the same players in the latter stages of big tournaments. “It’s good to have a few guys at the top who are playing consistently,” he said. Well he may like to think that, but one of the undoubted joys of the Australian Open is its uncertainty, and long may it continue that players like Tsonga burst through in the early part of the year and take everybody by surprise.
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