Australian Open 2016: The Who, What and Where you need to know

RTR4NRYN — Novak Djokovic of Serbia blows a kiss to the crowd as he holds his trophy during a lap-of-honour following his defeat of Andy Murray of Britain to win their men's singles final match at the Australian Open 2015 tennis tournament in Melbourne February 1, 2015 Reuters / Brandon Malone

It’s that time of year again when tennis superstars descend on Melbourne Park to battle it out at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.

As spaniard Rafael Nadal said in an interview which was beamed out on social media via Periscope - “The tournament gets better and better every year.” And if last year’s record-breaking attendance of 703,889 is anything to go by, the Australian Open is an event you wouldn’t want to miss.

Screen Shot 2016-01-13 at 1 — Is going to the Australian Open on your bucket list? Periscope / camstrause

While the tournament kicks off next Monday, the qualifying rounds are underway and streaming live on YouTube.

Defending champions Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams will be strong contenders as they work to win back-to-back titles. Runner-up of the past four years Andy Murray will also be hungry for the win and a key player to watch out for. Others include Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka and Victoria Azarenka.

@AustralianOpen @RafaelNadal @kiaaustralia Heh!! He has the key to my heart too!! _ Raaafffaaa!!!
— Virginia (@vje51) January 13, 2016

Notable Australian contenders include Sam Stosur, Bernard Tomic, Lleyton Hewitt and Nick Kyrgios. This is Hewitt’s 20th and final Australian Open, so expect a crowd of Aussies at his matches. Another crowd favourite, Nick Kyrgios, is coming off a tournament win at the Hopman Cup in Perth.

The festivities won’t stop at tennis matches. There will be plenty of events around the park which will please the crowds. The Heineken Live Stage will sport Australian musicians daily, including the Rubens, British India and Dan Sultan.

There are also plenty of food and drink options at the park, with restaurants such as Billie Chu, Grass & Grain and Cucina Di Casa offering affordable dishes between $10-$40.

Hello from #Melbourne. It's almost the @AustralianOpen time! pic.twitter.com/78seJMU3aG
— Ana Ivanovic (@AnaIvanovic) January 13, 2016

Tickets to the event start at $29 for entry into Melbourne Park, then range from $49-$289 depending on the seating and type of match. Spectators are encouraged to take public transport, although disabled parking will be available. Buses, trains and trams all run in close proximity to Melbourne Park. Timetabling information is available on Metlink’s website.

If you’re not lucky enough to be in Melbourne for the tournament, you can always catch live matches on Channel 7 if you’re in Australia. The Australian Open is also broadcast on Sky in New Zealand, ESPN in the US/Canada and EuroSport in the UK and Europe.

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