The "other" tennis Grand Slam event, the Australian Open, is set to begin next week. And if the players seem a little more into it this year, it might be because they are competing for the largest purse in the history of Grand Slam tennis.
The winners of the men's and women's singles tournaments will each take home A$2.3 million (US$2.2 million). Even the runner-ups will receive a check for A$1.2 million (US$1.1 million) and just making it to the semi-finals will pay nearly a half-million dollars (A$437,000).
For comparison, the winners at the 2011 Wimbledon and U.S. Open tournaments each received $1.8 million. The French Open champions each received approximately $1.5 million.
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