Premise: Petr Korda was the defending champion, but he was eliminated in the third round by Todd Martin.<br>Yevgeny Kafelnikov won the title, defeating Thomas Enqvist in the final, 4–6, 6–0, 6–3, 7–6. With this win, Kafelnikov became the first Russian (male or female) to win the Australian Open.
Hypothesis: Prior to Kefelnikov, no Russian woman had ever won the Australian Open.