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The tennis is world-class, and the players' endurance mind-blowing, but when it comes to the Australian Open, let's face it — it's not just about the sport.
It also brings into focus the drama, celebrity and occasional controversies of professional sport.
For a fortnight each January, as players fight for the year's first grand slam title — and millions in prize money — the stakes are as high as the emotions.
To celebrate Australia's Open (AO) — the ABC documentary charting the tournament's highs and lows — we've searched the archives to find some of the event's most inspiring, unforgettable and defining moments and invited a panel of sporting greats and AO enthusiasts to share their memories.
1. Sisterly rivalry
Cast your mind back to 2017 when the Williams sisters faced off at Rod Laver Arena in the women's singles final.
Not only was Serena out to beat her older sister Venus, but she was also trying to claim her 23rd grand slam — while quietly pregnant.
Ultimately, Serena defeated Venus, edging closer to the all-time record held by Australia's Margaret Court of 24 major titles.
More than just sibling rivalry:
"It was two sisters dominating a game that they really shouldn't have been a part of.
"And I say that because tennis has always been so incredibly white. Out of 256 players in 2017, five were of colour."
- Tracey Holmes
The Venus success story:
"Given the extraordinary record that Serena compiled in grand slams, it's so easy to forget that the equal second-most successful player during that era was, in fact, her own sister."
- Simon Smale
2. Unforgettable sportsmanship
It was always bound to be edge-of-your-seat viewing when Rafael Nadal met Roger Federer in the 2017 men's singles final.
An audience of 4.4 million people knew it and tuned in around the world to witness the marathon match.
Federer, having recently returned to the court after six months out with a knee injury, was the underdog against career-rival Nadal.
His last major win over Nadal was 10 years earlier, and he hadn't won a grand slam in five years.
Needless to say, it was a thrilling victory for fans when Federer won in five sets to claim his 18th grand slam title.
Despite the rivalry, Federer was humble and paid a generous tribute to Nadal.
"I would have been happy to lose, to be honest," he said.
"The comeback was perfect as it was.
"If there was a draw I would have been very happy to accept it and share it with Rafa."
With praise and humility, Nadal returned Federer's show of sportsmanship.
"Today was a great match," Nadal said.
"Roger deserved it a bit more than me. I'm just going to keep trying."
A meeting of two legends:
"You could argue this was the last hurrah of the greatest sporting rivalry in history — and it didn't disappoint.
"The two legends' final meeting in a grand slam final provided three-and-a-half hours of the most sublime tennis you could ever hope to see."
- Simon Smale
It's all about the spectacle:
"It's kind of phenomenal when you think about it — that there are two people playing, and we invest so much of ourselves in watching what they do.
"That real-life, real-emotion, in-the-moment drama provides the release from what we're going through."
- Tracey Holmes
3. Highs and lows for home-soil heroes
Fresh from a Wimbledon win six months earlier, Australia's Pat Cash made it through to the Australian Open men's final in 1988.
Cash had flown into the country, aware of national media and crowd expectations, as he contended with his own drive to win on home soil.
"I put enough pressure on myself, believe me — more than I should have. Way more than I should have," Cash recalls.
"To have that extra expectation was crippling at times. It really was."
In the end, Cash lost to Sweden's Mats Wilander in a thrilling four-and-a-half-hour game.
A match to remember:
"I remember it like yesterday, and there was a lot of hope around that final.
"The whole nation was riding off the back of Pat Cash."
- Josh Frydenberg
The tough road to a home victory:
"To win a home grand slam is incredibly difficult because the expectation of the crowd creates a different pressure on the player.
"You've really got to compartmentalise that thinking when you're out there competing. It's a very, very difficult thing to do."
- Craig Tiley
Cash described the loss as devastating.
"[It] absolutely broke my heart," he said.
"A lot of us have based our self-worth on the fact that we win or we lose. So when you lose, it's horrendously deflating.
"I damn well came close … it stings every time I come into Melbourne Park."
Cash isn't the only Australian to know the disappointment of an AO finals loss.
When world number one Dylan Alcott won Australian of the Year in 2022, he skipped the awards' after-party to prepare for the Australia Open later that week.
Alcott — the first man in tennis to win a Golden Slam — was attempting to win his eighth consecutive Australian Open title.
He progressed to the quad wheelchair singles final against world number two Sam Schroder, in what was to be the last professional match of Alcott's career.
But the fairytale ending wasn't to be, when Alcott was dethroned in front of a home crowd.
In Alcott's gracious post-match speech, he honoured the many supporters with disability cheering him on around the court.
"That's the reason I get out of bed," he said, tearfully thanking his fans for changing his life.
The push for greater recognition:
"Watching him was really special, but we still say there's been no local to win the Australian Open in 44 years. It's simply just not true.
"Have a little Google on who won the Australian Open in one particular year — all you get is the able-bodied men and women."
- Shelley Ware
An incredible track record:
"To achieve that in your career is remarkable. And we need to learn that this is greatness we're seeing."
- Craig Tiley
But Australian fans have also known the joy of breathtaking wins from our home-soil heroes.
Among the most unforgettable was Ash Barty, who made it to the Australian Open women's final in 2022.
An Australian woman hadn't reached a singles final since Daniela Di Toro in the wheelchair singles in 2011 and Wendy Turnbull in the women's singles in 1980.
Having enjoyed a triumphant run through the tournament, Barty went head-to-head in the final against Danielle Collins from the United States.
Desperate to see Barty secure the title, Australians held their breath and hung off every point until she claimed victory and screamed with relief in front of the roaring crowd.
In emotional scenes, Barty's idol, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, presented the winner's trophy — four decades after she became the first First Nations woman to win the tournament.
An unforgettable win:
"Every single person in the crowd was cheering their faces off for Ash.
"I've never heard Rod Laver arena remotely that loud in my life.
"That visceral scream that she let out. Just seeing the pressure let out of her at that moment."
- Rennae Stubbs
A moment of unity:
"I couldn't see my television through the tears. I spent most of the time crying.
"I think, for a moment, we become one because the whole of Australia forgets just for a little minute that there are so many obstacles and so many barriers that have held Aboriginal people back.
"There just aren't many other ways in which Aboriginal women are celebrated to that level.
"Australian society should lift Aboriginal people from grassroots all the way up, and not just wait for them to win on a global scale. Let's hope that that's our future."
- Shelley Ware
4. Extreme weather
It doesn't matter how fit Australian Open players are, they're affected by Melbourne's summer heat.
Daily temperatures can soar to 40 degrees Celsius, and, on-court, the mercury can climb above a sweltering 60C — even in the shade.
This was the case in 2018, as players — and spectators — battled extreme heat conditions.
Two years later, the devastating bushfires of Black Summer saw thick smoke blanket Melbourne.
Yet, despite the low air quality — and some athletes coughing and struggling to breathe — the Australian Open continued.
Sport in a changing climate:
"This is not an issue that is going to go away. It's an issue that's only going to get worse, and not just in Australia.
"The US Open had its own heat issues with Daniil Medvedev last year describing 'brutal conditions' in New York as he beat Andrey Rublev in the US Open quarterfinals."
- Simon Smale
The show goes on:
"People say 'this is going to threaten the event', and, 'how can we watch tennis, or anything, with all of this going on?' And then the minute it starts, it's like nothing else matters."
- Tracey Holmes
5. The COVID era
The lead-up to the 2022 Australian Open was dominated by Novak Djokovic and Australia's tight COVID restrictions.
The world number one made international headlines when he received a vaccination exemption to enter Australia for the tournament.
But when the tennis star landed in Melbourne, his visa was withdrawn by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke.
Djokovic was detained in a hotel until the decision could be appealed, putting an international focus on Australia's border policies and the treatment of asylum seekers.
Having endured rolling lockdowns and tough restrictions to control the spread of COVID, many Australians were up in arms that Djokovic could be allowed entry when unvaccinated.
Ultimately, Djokovic was deported after the federal court upheld the minister's decision, and the Australian Open commenced without the defending champion.
A 'complicated mess':
"It was the biggest story on the planet.
"Getting the Australian Open on in that time was a remarkable, high-stakes achievement for which organisers deserve more credit than they received.
"But the Djokovic situation was a needlessly complicated mess that backfired badly on everyone concerned, not least the government, who had a light shone on an immigration policy that the rest of the world, at best, had been ignoring."
- Simon Smale
An anxious time:
"It was a little strange to have someone who was openly unvaccinated go to a country that was 98 per cent vaccinated."
- Jon Wertheim
Evolving COVID restrictions:
"Everything was changing and no-one's to blame for that.
"But you try and run a tournament with a whole set of rules that are really vague. It was just … it was a nightmare."
- Tracey Holmes
The new two-part documentary Australia's Open tells the story of our most high-profile sporting event. Stream now on ABC iview to see all the drama — both on and off the court.