Originated in the early 20 century, the Australian Open grows in size every passing year. It involves men and women singles, men and women doubles and juniors competitions. This year’s tournament consists big name athletes such as, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. The tournament this year, takes place January 18-31.

The tournament was originally played on grass, but in 1988, was changed to hard courts. It is held in Melbourne, Australia and  is played in the end of January and is the first tournament of the tennis season. It is the first of the four Grand Slam events; the other three being, the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. Djokovic took home the title last year for men’s singles, while Williams took the title for women’s singles.

This year’s tournament has been filled with forgone conclusions, upsets and more. No. 1, Djokovic and No. 3, Federer have both made it to the quarterfinal, while No. 2, Andy Murray has advanced to round four. However, in the first round, No. 5, Rafael Nadal was upset by No. 45 Fernando Verdasco. No. 11, Kevin Anderson was also upset by No. 93, Rajeev Ram.

Tennis is different than most sports. Unlike football or basketball, where you must rely on your teammates to take responsibility, tennis is mainly an individual sport, unless you play doubles. — Nick LeBlanc

For the women, No. 1, Serena Williams is in the quarterfinal while No. 2, Simona Halep lost to No. 133, Shuai Zhang in the first round. Williams’ sister, Venus also lost in the first round to No. 47, Johanna Konta.

Although I am not a huge fan of watching tennis, I was able to catch glimpses of the tournament. Tennis is different than most sports. Unlike football or basketball, where you must rely on your teammates to take responsibility, tennis is mainly an individual sport, unless you play doubles. As a current tennis player, my coach tells me to not let one play effect the rest of the game and to not let the opponent get into my head. Staying focused and determined are keys to being successful in tennis.

It amazes me to see how the players can control the ball with just the position of the racket. By applying topspin, these pros keep their opponents on their toes.

Julian Castro, ’17, a fan of tennis and one of my teammates, enjoys watching the Australian Open, especially his favorite player, Novak Djokovic. He believes that Djokovic can bring home another title due to his proper fundamentals.

[fusion_soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/243825667″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”150″ iframe=”true” /]

“My favorite tennis player is Novak Djokovic,” Castro said. “I think that the tournament has been very interesting and has been fun to watch. Djokovic is doing well and I hope to see him in the finals I think he has the best chance to win it all because he has good fundamentals and overall has the best talent.”

With half of the Australia Open in the books, there have already been plenty of unexpected outcomes. The upcoming games can be watched on ESPN, ESPN2 and the Tennis Channel.

For last weeks Sports Column, read: World of Sports: New king of the NBA.

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @nick_leblanc1 and via email: Nick LeBlanc.