1981 Men's Singles

Australian Open 1981 marked the beginning of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert’s five-year monopoly of the women’s singles title. It was their first Melbourne meeting and Navratilova’s 6-7(4) 6-4 7-5 victory was, to that point, the longest match (in games) of an Open era Australian Open women’s singles final. With few of the world’s top male players making the trip Down Under, South Africa’s Johan Kriek went to town on the weak field, beating a youthful Tim Mayotte in the quarterfinal and Mark Edmondson in the semifinal. His opponent in the final was unseeded American Steve Denton, a player whose game was most remarkable for the two-step run up that generated his powerful serve – a move now banned. Hitting winner after winner off Denton’s bombshell deliveries, Kriek won the first two sets and held four match points in the third. Denton managed to hang on to serve his way through a tiebreak, only to concede the fourth set, handing Kriek a 6-2 7-6(1) 6-7(1) 6-4 win and the $65,000 prize money cheque. Kriek’s victory made him the first South African man in history to win a Grand Slam singles title. In the junior championships, Melbourne-born Anne Minter completed a hat trick of girls’ singles titles.

Finals