“Roland Garros” is on the lips of everyone who is not indifferent to tennis, and especially in the second half of May and early June, when the French Open takes place - the unofficial world championship on clay courts. This name is given to the tennis stadium in Paris. However, not all tennis fans know the history of this name. The French championship at the beginning of the 19th century did not have a permanent residence permit and until 1928 was held on the courts of the capital's clubs "Racing Club de France", "l'île de Puteaux" and "Stade Francais". 

In 1925 it was declared "International", after which it began to be considered as an unofficial world championship on clay courts. There were not enough courts at the existing tennis bases. The French Lawn Tennis Federation (FFLT) realized that the time had come to build a tennis stadium with more courts and grandstands and began to look for a place for it. 

In 1928, the owner of the Stade Francais club (author's note - Located in the Parc Saint-Cloud - a suburb of Paris) Emile Lesieur agreed to donate part of his territory (3.25 hectares) for this purpose, but with one condition - the stadium must bear the name of the famous Frenchman Roland Garros, with whom he was on friendly terms since his studies at the HEC Paris business school (1906-1908), and during the First World War they were both pilots. In addition, Garros played for the club's rugby team - the most titled at that time. The condition was accepted. And not only the stadium was named Roland Garros, but the French Championship itself (Internationaux de France, French Open) began to be called by the same name.

Bemorepanda collected more interesting facts below.

1. Roland Garros, which by the way is called the French Open only outside of France, was not always open. The tournament was first held in 1891, and then only men, members of French tennis clubs, could participate in it.

2. A women's rank was added in 1897, and foreign athletes were able to compete on French courts in 1925.

3. Men are winning the Musketeers Cup, named after the "Four Musketeers' ' Jacques Brugnon, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and René Lacoste, who brought France its first Davis Cup victory in 1927. Women get the Suzanne Lenglen Cup, named after the French tennis player who at the beginning of the 20th century won 12 Grand Slam singles tournaments and was an Olympic champion.

4. The tournament bears the name of the French pilot and aviator Roland Garros, who participated in the First World War.

5. Garros was the first to cross the Mediterranean in an airplane, and invented a machine gun that could be mounted behind a propeller and fired without damaging it. Well, besides this, Garros loved rugby and, of course, tennis. The pilot was a member of one of the French tennis clubs and regularly went to the court while studying in Paris.

6. First, the arena that hosts the French Open was named after him, and then the entire tournament.

7. The arena, which bears the name of Roland Garros, was built specifically in 1928 for the French tennis team, which had won the Davis Cup a year earlier and was supposed to defend the title against the US team. There were simply no other suitable structures in France.

8. When the stadium was built, it was handed over to the French Tennis Federation on the condition that it would bear the name of the famous pilot.

9. This is the smallest arena of all that hosts Grand Slam tournaments, and the organizers plan to reconstruct it in 2016.

10. It was Roland Garros that became the first Grand Slam tournament, which allowed both professional and amateur tennis players to take part in competitions. This happened in 1968.

11. The tournament has been held since 1891, but during the Second World War, the competition was still interrupted. However, even in wartime conditions, small tennis tournaments were held in France. Only the French could participate in them.

12. The question of moving Roland Garros to another city was raised, but the unequivocal decision was made that the tournament should remain in Paris.

13. This is the only Grand Slam tournament that takes place on clay, and the participants require special stamina - the balls fly slower and higher, and good preparation is needed to stay in the game.

14. In addition, the clay surface deprives the masters of the serve, for example, Andy Roddick, during his career at Roland Garros, could not go beyond 4 rounds.

15. The hosts of the Parisian courts cannot boast a long list of achievements. Only three girls and two men have won Roland Garros in singles.

16. The last winner with a French passport was Mary Pierce, who won the tournament in 2000. In men, the last victory of the hosts dates back to 1983 - it was won by Yannick Noah.

17. Yannick Noah was not only the last French winner of the Roland Garros, but also the first black winner of this tournament. His son Joachim Noah did not become a tennis player and plays basketball, he currently plays for the Chicago Bulls NBA team.

18. In women, the first black winner was American Atea Gibson. She won the competition in 1956, the same year she also won the doubles Roland Garros. In addition, she is the first black winner of Wimbledon.

19. Roland Garros, like many major tournaments, has its own museum, which is called "tennisseum". It was opened in 2003 and covers 2200 square meters.

20. This is the first multimedia museum dedicated to tennis, with almost 4,400 hours of audiovisual programs on the history of the tournament, the oldest of which date back to 1897.

21. In addition to multimedia materials, the museum also presents ordinary exhibits. For example, more than 100 rackets, the oldest of which date back to the 50s of the XX century.

22. The youngest winner in 1989 was the American Michael Chang, at that time he was 17 years and 3 months old. In the women's category, the youngest winner is an American of Yugoslav origin, Monica Seles. In 1990, she won the tournament at the age of 16 years and 6 months.

23. Roland Garros record holders for the number of victories are Chris Evert in women and Rafael Nadal. Both won on the Parisian courts 7 times.

24. Spaniard Nadal won in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012. American Chris Evert won the tournament in 1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, and 1986.

25. Nadal won the French Open 4 times in a row (as did Bjorn Borg, who won a total of 6 victories at Roland Garros) and defended the title in the 2013 season. In the women's part of the tournament, the current winner is Russian Maria Sharapova.

26. In 1891, the Union of French Societies of Athletic Sports (USFSA) organized the first French tennis championship, which took place within one day in Paris on the clay courts of the Racing Club. The tournament did not arouse much interest either among tennis players or among spectators, since only the French or members of French tennis clubs were allowed to participate. But by the beginning of the twentieth century, the championship became the largest French tournament.

27. However, in 1912, the number of participants decreased sharply, as a new World Clay Tennis Championship appeared, organized in cooperation with the Stade Français club. After 11 years, this tournament exhausts itself, which leads to the resumption of the previous championship of France. In 1925, foreign players were admitted to the championship for the first time, and it acquired the status of the French Open. Tournaments start at the same time on the courts of Stade Français and Racing Club.

28. In 1927, the magnificent French four Jacques Brunion, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and Rene Lacoste, whom the press and fans called only the “four musketeers”, defeated American tennis players in the Davis Cup. The rematch was supposed to take place in the home of the Musketeers, and such a major sporting event required a stadium of a decent standard. The Stade Français club is donating three hectares of land to the French Tennis Federation in Porte d'Auteuil, a suburb of Paris.

29. The only stipulation was that the new stadium would bear the name of former French hero club member and military pilot Roland Garros, the first person to fly non-stop across the Mediterranean and who died just five weeks before the end of the First World War. In May 1928, the opening of the stadium took place, on the courts of which a few weeks later the French championship was held, and then the long-awaited rematch with the Americans took place. Since that time, the French Open has received a permanent registration and became the fourth Grand Slam tournament. In 1968, the French were the first of the big four to allow professional players onto their courts.

30. In 1974, 18-year-old Bjorn Borg and 19-year-old Chris Evert won in Paris. These two victories marked the beginning of a new era. From 1974 to 1981, the Swede won the championship six times, and the American won seven titles between 1974 and 1986. These successes have made tennis players Roland Garros record holders. In terms of the total number of victories won in all categories, the best are the Frenchman Henri Cochet (nine titles) and the Australian Margaret Smith Court (13 titles).

31. In 1983, 37 years after the victory of Marcel Bernard, to the delight of all France, their compatriot Yannick Noah won. And the last Frenchwoman to win in Paris was Marie Pierce in 2000. In total, French athletes have won 16 titles in the 85-year history of the Open Championship (ten men, six women). The champions among men are the Spaniards (13 titles), and among women, the Americans are out of competition (27 times).

32. In 1989, the tournament was won by Michael Chang. He is only 17 years old, becoming the youngest champion of the French Open and the first American in 34 years (the last was Tony Trabert in 1955). Among the girls, the youngest champion is Monica Seles (16 years 6 months).

33. Monica is also the third tennis player in the history of the French Open, who managed to win the tournament three times in a row (1990-92). Helen Wills-Moody (1928-30) and Hilde Sperling (1935-37) did it before her. In the future, this achievement will be able to repeat Justine Henin (2005-07). The record among men is four victories in a row. Two managed to do this - Bjorn Borg (1978-81) and Rafael Nadal (2005-08).

34. Helen Wills-Moody holds another record - she has not lost a single set in all four championships she has won. Bjorn Borg (1978, 1980), Rafael Nadal (2008, 2010) and Justine Henin (2006-07) each have two such championships.

35. Most victories on the courts of Paris won: for men - Guillermo Vilas (56 wins in 73 matches), for women - Steffi Graf (84 wins in 94 matches).

36. The record holders for the longest matches in the championship are the French: for men - Fabrice Santoro - Arnaud Clement 6:4, 6:3, 6:7, 3:6, 16:14 (2004, 393 min.), And for women - Virginie Busson - Noel van Lotton 6:7, 7:5, 6:2 (1995, 247 min.).

40. The shortest final was played in 1988, when Steffi Graf defeated Natasha Zvereva - 6:0, 6:0 (34 min.) The German woman also holds the record for the longest final (1996), in which she defeated Arancha Sanchez - Vicario 6:3, 6:7, 10:8 (184 min.) Among men, the longest final was played in 1982 - Mats Wilander - Guillermo Vilas 1:6, 7:6, 6:0, 6:4 (282 min.).

41. In 1993, 12-year-old Martina Hingis at Roland Garros became the youngest champion in the history of junior Grand Slam tournaments. It's a paradox, but it is the French championship that will remain a white spot in her professional career. Among men, the main loser of Paris is considered to be the great Pete Sampras.

42. In 1997, Gustavo Kuerten won in Paris, being the 66th racket of the world. It was the first professional title in the Brazilian's career. In 2001, he won the tournament for the third time and became the first champion of Roland Garros, who had to play match points on the way to the title. 

43. Three years later, another unseeded player, Gaston Gaudio, will win a sensational championship victory, while winning back two championship points. In total, in the history of the championship, only four men won without being seeded players.

44. Among women, the only unseeded champion was Margaret Scriven (1933). Until last year, this was the only time that a tennis player not included in the Top 10 seeding became the champion.

45. The record holder for the number of performances in Paris is the Frenchwoman Natalie Tosia (18 times).

46. The 1998 Men's Championship went down in history as the first Grand Slam tournament in the Open Era in which only one of the top eight seeds made it past the second round. In addition, at the French Open, it has not yet happened that a tennis player who made his way to the main draw through qualification defeated the current champion: Marat Safin - Gustavo Kuerten 3:6, 7:6, 3:6, 6:1, 6:4.

47. In the same year, the Williams sisters played their first Grand Slam final. In the mixed doubles competition, the victory went to the eldest: Venus, paired with Justin Gimelstob, defeated Serena and Luis Lobo 6:4, 6:4.

48. Russian finals were played twice in Paris: in 2004, Anastasia Myskina beat Elena Dementieva 6:1, 6:2, and in 2009 Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Dinara Safina 6:4, 6:2. And the first Russian woman to win the Roland Garros was Olga Morozova, who won the doubles title in 1974. In total, Russian tennis players have won seven titles. Yevgeny Kafelnikov became the champion in singles (1996) and won three times in doubles. Evgenia Manyukova and Andrey Olkhovsky won the mixed doubles competition (1993).

49. Roland Garros is considered the most romantic Grand Slam tournament. As many believe, this is facilitated by the nearby Bois de Boulogne and the special Parisian aura. More than one tennis romance happened here. And the biggest love story was born in 1999, when Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf were celebrating their victories.

50. Pink geranium has always been an indispensable attribute of the center courts of the stadium. However, in the middle of the last decade, for unknown reasons, this color began to annoy some tennis leaders, and the geranium bloomed its current red color.

Novak Djokovic - Serbian tennis player, 15-time Grand Slam winner, retained the title of the first racket of the world for 223 weeks.

Novak Djokovic was born on May 22, 1987 in the former Yugoslavia. In addition to him, the parents raised 2 more younger children, and one day they also decided to involve them in tennis, which the eldest son was also fond of. Subsequently, a few years later, all three guys became professional tennis players.

Novak is also one of the richest athletes in the world, and his fortune has developed, including from prize money for tournaments. During his career, Djokovic earned 133 million euros. This is the best result among all tennis players and 20 million more than Rafael Nadal.

Off the court, Nole is doing well with several lucrative business ventures. In 2005, he founded the catering company Family Sport, which, among other tournaments, organized the Serbia Open. Djokovic owns two popular restaurants: Novak in Belgrade and Eqvita in Monaco. The most unsuccessful project of the first racket of the world is a gluten-free company called Djokolife. The startup failed: Novak launched it in 2015, and nothing has been heard of him since.

Another source of income for a tennis player is contracts with equipment manufacturers. Lacoste is paying Djokovic 8.2 million euros a year to have the Serbian wear Lacoste during matches. Nola wears shoes at Asics - for this he receives another 3.5 million euros annually. The general condition of the Serb is estimated at 192 million euros - he is in 38th place among the richest athletes in the world.

Bemorepanda collected some interesting facts about Novak Djokovic.

1. As a child, Novak was involved in many sports, including skiing and football, but everything changed when, at the age of four, the boy picked up a racket. Although he liked all the sports he tried, the choice was made in favor of tennis. Djokovic didn't fail. But who knows, perhaps in football the Serb would have achieved no less heights.

2. The first coach of Djokovic was not only an excellent sports specialist, but also a culturally developed person. Elena Gencic worked as a director on television and knew a lot about art. She instilled her passion in Novak: during training and after matches, the tennis player, together with his coach, listened to classical music to bring emotions into harmony. Many years have passed, but Djokovic's love for the classics has remained.

3. Novak's childhood, like many people from Serbia, fell on the Yugoslav war. The bombing of Belgrade made training impossible for some time. 

4. Novak had to celebrate his 12th birthday in a bomb shelter. But the tennis coach did not let him relax even at this time. Jelena Gencic found a court near a military hospital that would not be bombed, so the training continued. Also, for classes, they chose places that had previously been bombarded.

Novak started playing tennis at the age of four, and already at 16 he received the level of a professional. The key year in his life was 1993, when the game of a six-year-old novice tennis player was seen by national tennis legend Elena Gencic.

Then she said that this was the best child's play she had ever seen. The woman became the first professional coach of the future tennis star, and worked with him for six years, and then helped the boy go abroad to continue building a career in tennis. Here, of course, her connections helped, and the 12-year-old boy became a student at the Pilic tennis academy in Oberschleissheim (Germany). Here he studied for four years, during this period he began his international career. At the age of 14, he won the European Championship in three categories.

You can talk about the sports glory of a tennis player for a very long time, but another of his traits that a fan is crazy about is a great sense of humor. He became famous as a parodist who very funny copies the behavior of his friends - athletes. Through a great passion for humor and practical jokes, he even got the nickname "Joker", which became a symbiosis of his last name and the word "Joke" - which translates from English as "joke".

Today, Novak resides in Monte Carlo until he is married, but has a girlfriend, Jelena Ristic. By the way, he is an Orthodox Christian and financially helps the churches and monasteries of his homeland a lot. For this, he was awarded the highest award of the Serbian Church - the Order of St. Sava.

In addition, Djokovic is a member of the Champions for Peace organization, along with other athletes, he fights for world peace. Many journalists classify Novak as a polyglot, because in addition to great success in tennis, the athlete also boasts mental abilities, and in particular, that he is fluent in four languages ​​- his native Serbian, German, Italian and, of course, English.

5. The Olympic Games are not considered a top priority for tennis players, but are still perceived as a prestigious tournament. Athletes usually take part in them only three or four times in a career. In 2008, while still far from being the most famous tennis player in the world, Novak won a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics. Above him were only the Chilean Fernando Gonzalez and the eternal rival of the Serb Rafael Nadal.

6. Novak won the Australian Open and holds 15 Grand Slam titles. The win in Australia put Djokovic in third place in all-time Grand Slam wins. Only Swiss Roger Federer (20 times) and Spaniard Rafael Nadal (17 times) have won more than him in these tournaments. But given that the difference between them is not so big, the Serb still has the opportunity to catch up with competitors.

7. Novak Djokovic became the first tennis player to win all nine Masters tournaments. It happened not so long ago: the tennis player added to his piggy bank the missing victory in Cincinnati, beating Roger Federer in the final. For the Serb himself, the tournament was the 70th win in his career. Djokovic won the other eight Masters gradually throughout his career. So in 2018, Novak became a real “Master”.

8. The Grand Slam tournament in Australia is held annually on the hard courts of Melbourne, and here Djokovic has no equal. During his career, the tennis player has already won the Australian Open seven times. He won his latest triumph on an exotic continent this weekend. Now Novak is the absolute champion of the tournament, because no one in modern history has managed to win there seven times before. Of the 15 Grand Slam victories, almost half were won in Australia, so the Serbian can definitely consider himself the tennis “king” of this country.

9. Perhaps, on the scale of Serbian history, Djokovic loses in popularity to physicist Nikola Tesla and director Emir Kusturica, but at the moment Novak is the most famous Serb in the world and in Serbia itself. To understand the scale of the personality of a tennis player in his native country, it is enough to know just one fact. The local airline Air Serbia named its second aircraft in his honor.

10. The aircraft made its first flight in Abu Dhabi, so if you ever want to go from Serbia to the Emirates, then you know what to fly on.

11. Perhaps today, charity is a common thing for every publicly wealthy person. But that doesn't change the importance of what Djokovic does. His Novak Djokovic Foundation is dedicated to helping disadvantaged children around the world. So, for example, the tennis player donated his $20,000 prize money for winning the Australian Open 2016 to a training program for children from Melbourne.

12. Today, Djokovic is the best tennis player in the world. This is evidenced by his first place in the men's standings. 

13. In the ATP rankings, the Serbian is more than 2,000 points ahead of the Spaniard Rafael Nadal and has a 4,000 point lead over the German Alexander Zverev, who is in third place. 

14. For the first time, Novak became the first racket of the world in 2011 and since then, although periodically falling lower, giving way to either Nadal or Andy Murray, he still remains one of the best tennis players on the planet.

15. On the eve of the Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic defeated the Italian Matteo Berrettini in the Wimbledon final, equaling the number of Grand Slam tournaments with the legendary Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. 

16. If the first racket of the world wins the Olympics and the US Open, he will earn the calendar "Golden Helmet" - a prize that is awarded to tennis players who have won 4 major annual tournaments and the Olympics.

17. Novak Djokovic was born in 1987 in Serbia into a family of professional skiers. Since childhood, he has been involved in sports a lot: in winter he participated in ski races, in summer he played football, and in the off-season he played tennis. 

18. When he was 6, Novak was noticed by the Yugoslav tennis player Jelena Gencic, who once coached Monica Seles, the former first racket of the world, and undertook to develop his talent. When the tennis player turned 13, he went to train at the legendary Pilic Academy in Munich, and a year later he began his international career.

19. At the age of 14, Novak Djokovic became a three-time European champion in singles, doubles and team events. When the athlete turned 18, he won his first ATP-tour tournament and entered the top 100 tennis players of the Association of Tennis Professionals, and a year later he climbed into the top ten of the ranking. 

20. Then his career took off even more rapidly. In 2011, Djokovic topped the ATP rankings for the first time and since then has been the leader in men's tennis for almost 2/3 of the time. After yesterday's triumphant Wimbledon final, he became the first tennis player in history to win all Grand Slam tournaments 2 times: now the Serb has nine titles at the Australian Open, two at Roland Garros, six at Wimbledon and three at the US Open. 

21. In addition, Djokovic is the record holder for major tennis titles, now he has 61 of them (his closest rival Rafael Nadal has 57, and Roger Federer has 54). “Yes, I am the best. I think so, - said the tennis player in an interview after the victory over Berrettini. “I believe that I am the best. Otherwise, I would not have won the Helmets and did not claim titles. But the greatest in history or not is up to you to decide. I have already said that it is very difficult to compare different historical eras of tennis. Rackets, balls, technology, courts, everything is changing.”

22. In his personal life, Novak Djokovic has succeeded no less than in professional tennis. He met his future wife Elena Ristic in high school. In 2005, they began dating, although soon after graduation they were separated by distance: Novak trained in Serbia, and Elena entered the Bocconi University in Milan. When the tennis player's lover graduated from university in 2011, they moved together to Monte Carlo, where Djokovic could train all year round. After 3 years, they legalized the relationship and became the parents of their first child, the son of Stefan. In 2017, Novak and Elena had a daughter, Tara.

23. Novak Djokovic is not just a brilliant athlete, but also a very versatile person. 

24. Like his rival Roger Federer, Novak is a polyglot and speaks six languages: his native Serbian, English, German, Italian, Slovak and French. He understands nutrition (his book Serve to Win even has a chapter on diet for athletes), loves dogs (and once tweeted his poodle), and is a serious fan of the AC Milan football club. In addition, Djokovic definitely has a talent for humor. 

25. In the early 2010s, the tennis player was called the Joker for famous parodies of colleagues: his collection included grotesque caricatures of the playing style of Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova and Andy Roddick.

26. Novak Djokovic is an Orthodox Christian (he considers this title the most important in his life) and provides assistance to dozens of churches in Kosovo and Metohija, for which he was awarded the Order of St. Sava I. 

27. In 2007, the tennis player opened the Novak Djokovic Foundation, a charitable foundation that makes education available to children from low-income families, and also covers the travel expenses of young Serbian athletes participating in international competitions. “Money is not a problem for me. I have earned enough to feed the whole of Serbia. I think the Serbs deserve it after the support I received from them,” Djokovic admitted in an interview.

28. The limited collection, created by Novak Djokovic in collaboration with Lacoste, is made in the colors of the national flags of France and Serbia - blue, red and white.

29. The athlete has a great sense of humor, which he repeatedly proved with his parodies of colleagues on the tennis court. In particular, on the network you can find a video where Novak copies the playing style of the Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova. The athlete's fans even gave him the nickname Joker ("Joker"). By the way, it is consonant with the name of Djokovic.

30. Novak boasts impressive achievements not only in tennis, but also in the study of languages. The athlete is fluent in Serbian, English, French, Italian and German.

31. Djokovic's life can be followed around the clock through the application for iOS and Android, which publishes the latest news, photos, videos and statistics of the tennis player. In addition, through the Nole4You option, each user has the opportunity to ask a question or send a wish to an athlete. The app is free and can be downloaded from iTunes or Google Play.

32. In order to be able to train all year round, Novak, along with his wife Jelena Ristic and son Stefan, had to move to Monaco, where the athlete settled in a two-room apartment, modest by Monte Carlo standards, in the immediate vicinity of the Monte Carlo Country Club training court.

33. In 2012, Novak set up his own charitable foundation, the Novak Djokovic Foundation, which helps develop education and sports in Serbia. In addition, in 2014, after Djokovic won the Italian Open tournament, the athlete drew a big heart on the ground and transferred his entire prize fund (750 thousand dollars) to flood victims in his native country.

34. Novak's love for music comes from his first coach, Jelena Gencic. After the end of her career, she worked not only as a coach at the tennis school in Kopaonik, where Djokovic studied from the age of 5, but also as a television director. Gencic has made over 1,500 art and culture films. Elena's father dreamed of becoming a pianist. Following his example, she learned to play the piano and often listened to classical music.

35. Sometimes they did visualization with music. Djokovic is still well versed in the classics and often turns to them to put his thoughts in order.

36. Gencic also made Djokovic learn foreign languages. From the very beginning, she believed that Novak would be among the best tennis players in the world and therefore considered it necessary to teach him not only a good backhand, but also public speaking. I found tutors and taught him to be kind, helpful and diplomatic.

37. Novak often referred to Elena as his "tennis mom". But she herself believed that her role was not limited to this, and appropriated the title of "individual development instructor" to herself. So, it was Elena who explained to Novak how to behave at the table: “I understood that he grew up in a family that made ends meet, and as a top-level tennis player he would have to sit down at a table where everyone is entitled to not only one knife, one fork and one glass.

38. The only truly candid interview Novak's father, Srdjan Djokovic, gave to the Serbian television channel B92 back in 2010, immediately after the team's victory in the Davis Cup.

39. Elena Genich was the first to notice that in the spring, with the beginning of the flowering season, Novak developed allergic rhinitis.

40. Djokovic was put on a diet by a specialist in alternative medicine, Serbian doctor Igor Chetoevich. He happened to see Novak in January 2010 when he was playing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga during a night session at the Australian Open. 

41. He performed a full examination of Djokovic, and to confirm the results, he connected him to a "biofeedback device" that can determine the level of stress, toxins from the environment and register brain impulses and symptoms of food allergies. As a result, it turned out that Djokovic's body reacts negatively to foods containing gluten.

42. Djokovic is far ahead of all representatives of Serbia in terms of popularity, including the famous director Emir Kusturica, after whom Air Serbia named its second aircraft.

43. Marco and George are four and eight years younger than Novak, respectively. Marco is more successful and ranks 930th in the ATP rankings. The youngest of the three brothers is located on the 1504th position. Marco ($71,525 since 2007) and George ($9,510 since 2011) together earned just over $80,000.

44. Together with Jelena Ristic, Djokovic created a charitable foundation in Serbia. The organization annually invests about half a million dollars in the construction of schools and kindergartens that provide free education to children from poor families. The foundation was established in 2007, and in 2014, Elena's charitable work was recognized by a joint award from the University of Physical Education and the Government of Serbia.

45. Even a wild Australian January does not make him change his habits. Cold water slows down blood circulation, and the body loses its tone. Therefore, on the recommendation of doctors, Djokovic drinks only warm water.

46. This is the saddest fact about Djokovic. Nole loves pizza but cannot eat even a very small piece. Novak is on a gluten-free diet, which involves the complete elimination of foods containing gluten. The tennis player's suffering is reinforced by the fact that his parents opened a pizzeria in Belgrade in 2009 and named it Novak.

47. Djokovic does not apply for the role of Mikhail Baryshnikov. But the lanky Serb is not at all shy about his movements. Nole celebrates almost every victory with dancing. And exhibition matches are not complete without concerts. The video of Nole dancing Gangnam Style with Serena has amassed over 1.5 million views.

48. When Djokovic first started his career, he already knew what he would do when he won Wimbledon. Eating some weed off center court is a childhood dream that first came true in 2011. Nole spoke about the reasons for eating the lawn only after the third victory at Wimbledon.

49. Nole takes two or three books on each trip. The Serbian tennis player especially respects classical literature. Periodically, Djokovic seeks advice from fans who send him playlists. In 2012, Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy topped the chart. Nola liked the novel so much that he even posted a thank you video on his website.

50. Djokovic loves dogs. His poodle Pierra has a Twitter account. But there is no official sign on it. And since June 2011, there have been only 20 tweets. But Pierre has more than two thousand readers. Nole named his second dog in honor of Nikola Tesla, of whom he is a fan.

The Australian Open Tennis Championships is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments currently held in the Australian city of Melbourne on the courts of the local sports complex Melbourne Park. The main draws of the competition are traditionally held in a two-week period at the end of January - the beginning of February, revealing the winners in nine categories: in five for adults and four for senior juniors.

The tournament was first held in Melbourne in 1905 and was called The Australasian Championships. 17 athletes took part in it, and 5 thousand spectators attended the final match. In 1927, the tournament was renamed the Australian Championships. In 1969, it became open to professionals and received its current name.

Bemorepanda collected some funny memes about Australia Open 2022.

1.Aus Open

2.Sport Star

3.The party life

4.Stepped in what

Beginning in 1905, the championship was held in six different locations:

Melbourne (54 times)

Sydney (17 times)

Adelaide (14 times)

Brisbane (7 times)

Perth (3 times)

New Zealand (2 times, in 1906 and 1912).

In 1972, the decision was made to hold the tournament in the same city every year. The venue was the grass courts of the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, a suburb of Melbourne. Over time, the Quyong Club became too small for a much larger tournament. By the beginning of the championship in 1988, the construction of a new tennis complex Melbourne Park (Melbourne Park, former Flinders Park, Flinders Park) was completed, where the tournament was moved that year. The move was a significant success - match attendance immediately increased and the 1988 tournament saw 90% more spectators (266,436) than the previous year's Quy Ong (140,000).

5.The good tennis

6.Nadal

7.Dreamworks

8.Little goat

In addition to problems with Cuyong Stadium (where, among other things, there was a slope that caused players on one side of the main court to literally walk uphill when they reached the net), the popularity of the Australian Open in the late 1970s and early 1980s professionalization of tennis negatively influenced. Leading players at that time were already earning such large sums that they could even afford to miss the Grand Slam tournament due to the fact that a trip to it meant missing the Christmas and New Year holidays. 

Chris Evert missed this tournament six times in a row at the peak of her career, Martina Navratilova four times; Bjorn Borg never competed in the Australian Open after 1974, and Jimmy Connors after 1975. As a result, the winners of the Australian Open were players who could not claim victory at any other Grand Slam tournament: in the women's singles in 1978, Chris O'Neill won, and in 1979 Barbara Jordan, in the men's singles in 1980 Bryan Teacher excelled. With plans to organize a two-week super tournament in Florida, there was a threat that it could force the Melbourne competition out of the Grand Slam tournament list. 

Therefore, in order to make it easier to attract elite players to the Australian Open, after the tournament in January 1977, the decision was made to reschedule the event to late November and early December. Therefore, in 1977 the championship was held for the second time - in December. This month it continued to be arranged in subsequent years. Starting in 1987, the tournament was again postponed to January, so the championship was not held in 1986.

The Melbourne Park Tennis Complex consists of, among others, 3 center courts and 3 demonstration courts.

9.Linesmen

10.Kyrgios

11.One of us is ignoring

The main court of the tournament, the Rod Laver Arena, was named after the legendary Australian tennis player Rod Laver in 2000. The court was built in 1988 and can accommodate 15,000 spectators. More than 1.5 million viewers visit it annually. The court is equipped with a retractable roof, which allows you to play matches in the rain or extreme heat.

The second court of the tournament, Hisense Arena, was built in 2000. The arena is special in that it can be easily transformed for various events. In addition to tennis tournaments, cycling and basketball competitions, as well as various concerts, are held here. The capacity of the stands also varies depending on the configuration - 10,500 spectators for tennis and basketball matches, 10,500 or 8,900 for concerts (depending on the location of the stage), 4,500 spectators in velodrome mode. The arena is also equipped with a retractable roof.

The third center court, the Margaret Court Arena, is named after the most successful Australian tennis player in history, Margaret Court, who, among other victories, won the Grand Slam in 1970, won a total of 62 Grand Slam tournaments ( in singles and doubles championships), which is still a record for both men and women; and was the first racket of the world. The court was formerly known as Show Court One and was renamed on January 12, 2003.

All courts have Plexicushion hardcovers. In the early years after the transition from grass turf to artificial courts, Rebound Ace rubberized surface was used. In cool weather, it bounced right, was neither too fast nor too slow and provided good foot grip, but in hot weather the rubber would melt and the courts would become sticky, resulting in severe injuries to Gabriela Sabatini in the 1990 tournament alone. and Mark Woodford.

12.Matt

13.Yes

14.Who said this?

15.Meanwhile, Feder

16.Official review

17.Border control

18.Ballboys

19.Terminal 2

20.Triangle 

21.Honey mommy

22.Last minute entry

23.A new player

24.He lied on visa

25.Tennis strars

26.Get vaccinated

27.Antivaxxers

28.Profesional visa

29.Both can play tennis

30.Last had covid

31.Question

32.Get a doctor

33.Admit i faked

34.And then you win

35.Zebras

36.Who is open

37.Certain things in life

38.Fashion starter pack

39.Get up at 9 a.m

40.Like this?

41.Tennis fans

42.Hair still perfect

43.What? Who?

44.Grand Slam Title

45.Character

46.If you know what I mean

47.Deportovic

48.My size

49.A new italian player

50.Unseeded?