The competition Competition began Process_start on 31 December 2007 when the Queensland Bulls took on two-time champions the Victorian Bushrangers at the new Tony Ireland Stadium in Thuringowa .

It was held Hold in memory of wrestler Rodney `` Yokozuna '' Anoa ' i , the nephew of promoter Afa Anoa ' i and former two-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion , who died of pulmonary edema in Liverpool , England during a tour of Europe the previous year .

In the women 's singles , two-time defending champion Martina Hingis successfully defended Defending her title , defeating Conquering another surprise finalist in Frenchwoman Amélie Mauresmo .

Oxford 's opponents in the earlier rounds had included Cause_to_be_included two-time former winners Wanderers .

Rafael Nadal was the defending Defending champion in the men 's event ; however , on 18 August , the Spaniard announced Expressing_publicly his withdrawal Removing from the event after failing Earnings_and_losses to recover Recovering from a wrist injury Bodily_harm , while Serena Williams was the two-time defending Defending champion in the women 's event .

ekaterina makarova and elena vesnina won women 's doubles competition Competition title , becoming Becoming two-time grand slam champions with their victory at the 2013 french open Openness .

Federer and Williams were two of a number of big-name casualties in the early rounds , along with two-time champion Rafael Nadal , two-time semifinalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga , 2004 champion Maria Sharapova and former World No .

Federer and Williams were two of a number of big-name casualties in the early rounds , along with two-time champion Rafael Nadal , two-time semifinalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga , 2004 champion Maria Sharapova and former World No .