13 January 2005	Thursday	02 Zilhaj 1425

MELBOURNE, Jan 12: When Mark Edmondson shocked John Newcombe to win the title in 1976, it seemed certain a new generation of players would continue the home domination of the Australian Open.

But 28 years on, and despite two Davis Cup victories in the past six years, Australians are still awaiting another home champion in the men's singles of their grand slam.

Pat Cash reached the final in 1987 and 1988 but though Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt have been ranked world number one since, success at Melbourne Park has always proved a bridge too far.

With Rafter long retired, Hewitt carries home hopes again this year when the tournament kicks off on Monday but he has never progressed beyond the fourth round. The days when the event was dominated by the likes of Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Ken Rosewall and John Newcombe are becoming a distant memory.

Though Chris O'Neil, in 1978, was the last Australian woman to win the title, the fact that both Rafter and Hewitt have won two grand slam titles apiece outside of Australia makes it even more surprising that their men have failed at Melbourne Park.

Not surprisingly, in a country of sports fanatics, this has prompted plenty of debate. Until 1988, the Australian Open was played on grass and a generation of Australian serve and volley players dominated the game worldwide for the best part of two decades.

In fact, Australian men won their home title in all but two years between 1960 and 1976. "The Aussie game has always revolved around the serve and volley, grass-court approach," said Australian sports writer Trevor Robb.

"Even though grass is now scarce here, we still haven't caught up with the rest of the world in terms of adapting to different surfaces as far as coaching is concerned.

"We also don't have the conveyor-belt mentality for tennis that some countries have. Kids with natural talent are often identified here but frequently they are enticed into other sports with a higher profile."

Some blame the pressure of expectation on the players' shoulders, with their every move scrutinised by the media in the run-up to the event, while others talk of the greater competition in the tournament, which, until the move to Rebound Ace in 1988, struggled to attract many of the world's top players.

Bjorn Borg, who won 11 grand slam titles, played the Australian Open only once, John McEnroe ventured south only twice at his peak and Jimmy Connors made it only twice in his career, although he did win the title in 1974.

An Australian Open Academy was established last year, designed to help bring talent through, but Karen Lyon, of Melbourne newspaper The Age, said she believed the country had been spoiled by their success over the years.

"You forget that we probably overachieved once upon a time," she said. "In the 1940s, 50s and 60s, when we had these exceptional players, tennis was a small sport. "You didn't have all the players from Spain and South America. Now, Australians expect success to continue but they think that tennis is at still at Australia's beck and call."-Reuters