Paul McNamee was an Australian Open junior singles winner and men’s doubles champion, before going on to serve as tournament director from 1995 to 2006.
It’s an event extremely close to his heart, and one edition gives him particular satisfaction.
"AO 2005 was the standout year,” McNamee reflected on this week’s episode of The Sit-Down podcast.
“We did justice to the centenary of the tournament, and the semifinals were amazing when Lleyton [Hewitt] beat [Andy] Roddick and [Marat] Safin came from match point down and beat Roger Federer.
"The final was incredible. Lleyton was winning that final, he's a set up and in control in the second set. [Early] in the second set, Safin calls Ivan [Gutierrez the trainer].
LISTEN: The Sit-Down with Paul McNamee (Part 2)
“Ivan goes out there, and he comes back and I said: 'What's up with Marat?' He goes: 'He said he's playing so badly. He's sad and he's lonely and he just wanted somebody to talk to. He just wanted to talk about it, how bad he's feeling.' So I just listened to him.
"It turned the match. He broke Lleyton. End of match. Turned the match."
Safin recovered to win 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-4, his second Grand Slam title after his triumph at the US Open in 2000.
Hewitt’s compelling run to the final marked the first time Australia had an AO singles finalist since Pat Cash in 1988, and translated to enormous domestic interest.
The Safin-Hewitt final draw remains one of the most-watched broadcasts in Australian TV ratings history – the audience peaked at nearly six million – and was the most-watched sporting broadcast in Australia until the Matildas’ run to the semifinals of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
McNamee also recalled Day 8 of Australian Open 2005, when Hewitt beat Rafael Nadal in the fourth round before Alicia Molik stunned Venus Williams to give Australia two singles quarterfinalists at the tournament.
Those matches were broadcast from Rod Laver Arena to a live site at the Sydney Opera House, which attracted a crowd of 75,000.
"There was never a tournament like '05,” McNamee said.
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“The top four men made the semis, four shows [broadcast sessions] were in the top-10 of the year in ratings in Australia.
“It was an amazing year. We had so much to celebrate that year and it was just unbelievable.
"It's just gone from strength-to-strength since [my final year as tournament director] 2006. It's an incredible tournament. The facility is the best in the world. Great year this year with Jannik Sinner breaking through.”
Listen to the full episode of The Sit-Down, a weekly podcast released each Monday featuring an in-depth interview with a notable tennis identity. Subscribe via The AO Show in your favourite podcast player.