The Australian Open is officially underway with some of the biggest names hitting the courts in Melbourne.
Hundreds of thousands of fans will walk through the gates over the next two weeks hoping to see their favourite take home the 3.1 million dollar grand slam.
German great Boris Becker has held the men's title twice before, and this year he hopes it will again end up in the hands of Serbian player Novak Djokovic.
"I'm a bit biased - I'm coaching Novak Djokovic so hopefully he's going to take that trophy back home," he said.
Tennis Australia's CEO Craig Tiley says this year the Open is attracting new fans.
"Traditionally our fans have come from the United States and Europe, but last year and this year, more than before, our biggest contingent is coming now from South East Asia and China".
"We'd love to have 700,000 people through the gates over this fortnight, but we're reliant on having great weather in order to do that, and that would be a record".
The Open is a week later than last year, and the Bureau of Meteorology says it will be comparatively cooler for the two weeks.
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