NOS Sport•
Amateur player Jordan Smith has won a special tennis tournament and earned one million Australian dollars (570,000 euros). At the ‘One Point Million Dollar Slam’ he was the best of 24 professionals and 24 amateurs.
The event in the run-up to the Australian Open attracted full stands. With the fast and spectacular variant, the Grand Slam tournament aims to attract a wider audience than just tennis fans.
In the final, Smith defeated women’s world number 117 Joanna Garland, who punched the ball out after a short rally. Earlier he had already eliminated Jannik Sinner, the number two among the men, when the Italian hit his serve into the net.
The 29-year-old Smith, who had earned just over $6,000 in his tennis career so far, had qualified for the tournament by winning the Australian state championship of New South Wales.
One point per match
At the tournament, each match was decided by a single point play. A game of rock-paper-scissors was used to determine who would serve, with the point winner advancing to the next round.
The pros only received one serve: if it went out or into the net, the tournament was over. The amateurs were allowed to make a second attempt after an incorrect serve.
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The top prize, one million Australian dollars, was displayed next to the track -
Carlos Alcaraz, the number one among the men, had a good time -
Jay Chou, ‘The King of Mandarin Pop’, was eliminated without hitting a ball
Last year, the One Point Slam was introduced as a warm-up for the Australian Open. Back then the prize money was much lower (60,000 Australian dollars) and Andrei Rublev was the only player from the top ten of the world rankings to participate.
This year the organization took a much bigger approach. Not only the large prize pool, but also the participation of world top players such as Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner and Iga Swiatek meant that the Rod Laver Arena was completely sold out.
Furthermore, a crowd favorite such as Nick Kyrgios, who will skip the Australian Open this year, also participated, as did former winner Marat Safin (2005) and a number of local comedians and internet celebrities. They were often eliminated because they were unable to hit a single serve within the service box.
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