At first look, there were more people crowded along the length of the baseline than there were in the stands at the Kia Arena. One by one, they had emerged onto the court, appearing, at best, a mixed bunch. Half of the 32-player field were current or former professionals, from Andrey Rublev, a top-10 star and Australian Open quarter-finalist, to Iva Majoli, the 1997 French Open champion.
The other 16 were amateurs, regular folk, picked from tennis clubs across Australia. Among them were Bruce Saunders, the oldest competitor at 72, stepping onto court in a wide-brimmed hat, and the 56-year-old Paul ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald, who over the course of an hour would take down three professional players in a row and write himself into local legend.
It is fair to say that when the One Point Slam was born into the world, it did so tentatively, inconspicuously. But organisers Tennis Australia liked what they saw.
A year on, they have transported the event into a primetime slot on Rod Laver Arena, in the week before the Australian Open main draw begins. They have transformed it further by recruiting Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek to add blockbuster power, and slapped on a prize of AUD $1m (£500,000) for the winner. Alcaraz and Sinner competed across five hours and 29 minutes during their five-set French Open final last June, playing a total of 385 points. The champion of the One Point Slam will need to win just five.
The beauty of the One Point Slam, though, is that it takes an age-old pub debate and throws it centre stage. A few years ago, during Wimbledon, a survey of British sports fans who considered themselves to be reasonably athletic found that 26 per cent of people thought they could win a point against Serena Williams, with six per cent believing they could win a match against Andy Murray. That is, of course, complete nonsense, but it is more reasonable that even the most deluded casual players, and it is always men, think they would have a chance against a professional over a single point with a slice of good fortune.
The One Point Slam throws its doors open to some of those people: 10 of them have come through regional qualifiers across Australia for the right to share the stage with the best in the world. The final qualifiers took place in Melbourne Park this week and entrants were informed that rackets would be provided. Anyone could enter.
As a format, the One Point Slam is simple. First, ‘rock, paper, scissors’, or a coin toss, will determine who gets to serve. If you’re an amateur, you get two serves. If you’re a professional, you’re down to one. It’s all sudden-death: the winner of the point wins the match and progresses to the next round. The loser is eliminated. Win four matches in a row and you’ll reach the One Point Slam final. Win that point, and the AUD $1m is yours.
The inaugural event (it lasted 74 minutes, and is still on YouTube) highlights why Tennis Australia believe they have a hit on their hands. Last year, with the field equally split between professionals and amateurs, all of the regulars in the draw were guaranteed to play a point against a pro. The aforementioned ‘Fitzy’ took his shot.
Winning the coin toss, he elected to serve against Dane Sweeny, a diminutive Australian whose career-high ranking is 181 in the world. Fitzy spun the serve out wide and Sweeny, on the stretch, could not return. Match won.
In round two, Fitzy faced Matthew Dellavedova. He again won the toss and elected to serve, and repeated the trick. Fitzy found the same devious angle to send Dellavedova, career-high 334, chasing out wide, where he put his forehand into the net.
Round three. This time Fitzy found himself up against Alex Bolt, a more established Aussie pro who reached the third round of the Australian Open as a wildcard in 2019. Bolt won the toss and threw the gauntlet down to Fitzy by electing to receive. He would pay the price. With Bolt expecting another wide serve, Fitzy stepped up and rocketed a bomb down the T, a clean ace, to advance to the semi-finals.
Fitzy’s run would come to an end against Priscilla Hon, career-high No 94 on the WTA, who then lost to Omar Jasika, career-high No 179, in the AUD $60,000 final.
The randomness of Jasika’s victory, though, was partly attributed to the fact the top-seeded players in the draw, in Rublev and former Wimbledon semi-finalist Hubert Hurkacz, both succumbed to serving faults earlier in the draw.
It opens the question to the amateur club players in the One Point Slam draw, if they win the pre-match rock, paper, scissors. Elect to receive, and hope for a serving fault from a nervous Alcaraz or Gauff? Or take inspiration from Fitzy and step up the baseline with ball in hand, undaunted by the prospect of Sinner or Swiatek firing a return winner down the line.
Thanks to the One Point Slam, we’ll be able to find out.
The One Point Slam, featuring Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and 10 amateur players, will be streamed on the Australian Open’s YouTube channel on Wednesday 14 January from 8:30 am UK time.
