MELBOURNE, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Christine O'Neil, the last Australian to win the Australian Open, says tennis has changed a lot since she won the singles title in 1978.
"The game is played at such an amazing level now, I wouldn't like to be playing now," said O'Neil, who now coaches tennis.
"It's dramatically changed. Racquets are stronger, hence the use of much more topspin to control the ball, and there are very different court surfaces so the ball bounces higher. The depth of competition in both male and female is just extraordinary."
The year O'Neil won the championship, her opponent in the title match was American Betsy Nagelsen. O'Neil won 6-3, 7-6.
"It was probably a bigger shock to me than anyone else," O'Neil said. "I went into the draw as an unseeded player and ended up winning it. It was pretty unbelievable. I'm very proud of it."
O'Neil said rising star Alicia Molik could be the next homegrown player to take the title. Molik, a 24-year-old from Adelaide, won her early matches and faced American Venus Williams in the fourth round of the 2005 event.
