In the Open era, only three title holders were surprised in the first round of the Australian Open.
Before the start of the 2025 edition, it is therefore time to look back on this short list of unexpected defeats.
The first player is Roscoe Tanner, winner of the 1977 edition of the tournament at the expense of Guillermo Vilas.
4th in the world at his best ranking and winner of sixteen titles, the American won the Australian Open in January 1977, before having to defend his crown the same year, in December.
Seeded No. 2 in this edition which ended at the start of 1978, Tanner fell in the first round against New Zealander Chris Lewis in five sets (3-6, 6-3, 6-2 , 1-6, 6-4).
He then did not participate in the event again until the 1981 and 1983 editions, where he was beaten in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.
In 1997, Boris Becker, winner of Michael Chang in the final of the 1996 edition, arrived as the No. 6 seed in the tournament.
The German was one of the favorites to take over, but that was without counting on a newcomer to the circuit, Carlos Moya.
-The Spaniard, 25th in the world at the time, offered a fierce battle to Becker. Trailing two sets to one, Moya did not give up and won the last two sets with mastery (5-7, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4).
Without knowing it, Becker had then played his last Australian Open, beaten by the tenacity of Moya and the crushing heat of Melbourne.
Finally, Jennifer Capriati is the only player on the women’s circuit to have been eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open after winning the title the previous year.
Winner in 2001 and 2002 against Martina Hingis, Capriati arrived in Melbourne in 2003 with the objective of achieving the hat-trick.
Seeded No. 3, she had to face Marlene Weingartner for her entry into the running. Serene until 6-4, 4-2, Capriati then began to make more errors and saw his opponent gradually return to the game.
Weingartner, 90th in the world, took advantage of this opening to win the second set in the tie-break, before winning the match and achieving one of the feats of the tournament (2-6, 7-6, 6-4).
This was Jennifer Capriati’s last appearance in Melbourne, after her withdrawal from the 2004 edition and retiring in 2005 at the age of 29.
