Roger Federer of Switzerland holds the Brisbane Open men's singles trophy at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, January 11, 2015. Federer defeated Milos Raonic of Canada in three sets to mark his 1,000th career title.
Roger Federer of Switzerland holds the Brisbane Open men's singles trophy at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, January 11, 2015. Federer defeated Milos Raonic of Canada in three sets to mark his 1,000th career title. REUTERS/Jason Reed

The 2015 Australian Open is upon us. The first grand slam of the 2015 calendar year is just a week away from today. The preparations are on war footing with a whole slew of added incentives and perk the players and the fans cannot wait any longer for the tournament to start.

The biggest change is the prize money. Last year it was AU$33M. This year it has jumped to AU$40M. This huge jump is primarily as a result of the Australian dollar losing its value substantially throughout last year. This edition's prize money has already increased twice. Firstly last October it was increased to AU$36.3M with the intention of making it AU$40M in 2016. The authorities have scrapped that plan and announced a week prior to the tournament that it will be implemented this year itself.

The men's and women's single winner will get AU$3.1M each. The first round loser will pocket AU$34,500. Among the other new additions to this year's tournament is the new player lounge. With the competition getting tougher every year a more comfortable lounge will be welcomed by the players. The Australian Open is proud to have the quickest closing roof in the world at the Margaret Court Arena. A closing roof is becoming part and parcel of every high profile tennis tournament steadily. "In the meantime, we will also continue to assess everything from your per diem, to the quality and price of food, stringing, travel costs, accommodation etc.", tournament director Craig Tiley explained while introducing the new features.

A whole host of rising Australian tennis youngsters have secured wildcards to participate in this year's Australian Open. They are James Duckworth, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Luke Saville, John Millman, Olivia Rogowska, Arina Rodionova and Storm Sanders. These players will join Jordan Thompson and Daria Gavrilova who have already secured wildcards. A reciprocal agreement between Tennis Australia and French Tennis Federation has secured two French players Lucas Pouille and Oceane Dodin wildcards as well. Similar arrangements with USATA will see Denis Kudia and Irina Falconi get wildcards. Finally the Asia pacific wildcards will go to China's Ze Zhang and Chinese Taipei's Kai-Chen Chang.

To contact the author of this article, email a.biswas@IBTimes.com.au

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