Why the Australian Open Is Often the Best Grand Slam Event

By the time of the US Open in August, most players are so fatigued and injured that they aren't removed by a loss but rather because their bodies cannot take it. The hard court build up to the event (The US Open Series) contributes largely to this, as well as an endless tennis season where players are participating in tournaments at nearly all points of the year.

Wimbledon is much easier on the body, but much more difficult mentally. It's the Grand Slam Title that everyone vies for, and the pressure and weight of the occasion can lead to players putting forth less than their best tennis. That coupled with the fact that the surface is very hard to adjust to (considering that there are usually only two or three events played on grass during the entire course of the year) makes it much tougher for the players than the other three.

The French Open usually features an array of athletes not often seen during the rest of the year events. The clay court specialists come out, and usually open up the draw with major upsets, as a lot of top players' games are now suited toward hard courts.

The fact that most matches extend to the five hour mark because of how slow the surface plays can lead to matches that, frankly, can become boring.

That leaves the Australian Open. While the event is often scorned on the networks and (I would imagine) draws the least interest, the tennis is usually of a higher caliber than the other three.

The best players are often healthy, the surface caters well to a variety of play styles and the fact that it's considered by many to be the least important grand slam events puts less pressure on participants.

There have been many classic Grand Slam matches there: Federer versus Safin in '05, Federer versus Nadal in '09, Nadal versus Tsonga in '08 and many more that I'm forgetting. This is the tennis event that I most look forward to in the year because I believe the quality of tennis hits its peak.

I would recommend getting prepared for a wealth of great matches.