Grand Slam

Roger Federer said winning an 18th grand slam and extending his lead at the top of the list of most prolific major winners was a long way from being the most satisfying thing about winning his fifth Australian Open title on Sunday. The Swiss master, who did not play for six months following Wimbledon last year after undergoing knee surgery, made a triumphant return in Australia and, seeded a lowly 17th, claimed his first grand slam title for 4 1/2 years after a five-set epic against Rafa Nadal.

There are four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. These tournaments are the Australian Open in January at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, the French Open in May and June at the Stade de Roland Garros in Paris, the Wimbledon Championships in June and July at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London and the US Open in August and September at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City. Each tournament is played over a period of two weeks.

The Australian and United States tournaments are played on hard courts, the French on clay, and Wimbledon on grass. Wimbledon is the oldest, founded in 1877, followed by the US in 1881, the French in 1891, and the Australian in 1905. However, of these four, only Wimbledon was a major before 1924/25, the time when all four became designated Grand Slam tournaments.

The term Grand Slam also, and originally, refers to the achievement of winning all four major championships in a single calendar year within one of the five events: men's and women's singles; men's, women's, and mixed doubles. In doubles, one team may accomplish a Grand Slam playing together or one player may achieve it with different partners.

The term "Grand Slam" without qualification refers to winning the four majors in a single calendar year. Together, all four Majors in all three disciplines (singles, doubles, and mixed doubles) are called a "boxed set" of Grand Slam titles. No male or female player has won all twelve events in one calendar year, although a "career boxed set" has been achieved by three female players, writes Wikipedia.