MELBOURNE, Australia – Defending champion Jannik Sinner and 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic in the first main match of the season they found themselves on opposite sides of fate, ruling out a repeat of last year’s semi-final match.
Sinner upset Djokovic in the semifinals last year before coming back to beat him Daniil Medvedev in the final 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 and won his first Grand Slam singles title.
Top-ranked Sinner has a first-round match Nicolas Jarry and it also has Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Medvedev in his half of the draw. Fritz will open up against another American Jenson Brooksby.
Djokovic and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz they could meet in the quarterfinals, with a possible semifinal against No. 2 Alexander Zverev.
Thursday’s draw will determine the singles bracket, defending champion Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka They entered the official ceremony holding their trophies.
Sabalenka won her second consecutive title at Melbourne Park in 2024, defeating Zheng Qinwen In the final 6:3, 6:2. Sabalenka will be trying to win a third consecutive women’s singles title at Melbourne Park, a feat she recently achieved Martyna Hingis from 1997 to 1999.
Sabalenka drew a tough opening match against the 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephensand Sabalenka is 17 years old Mirra Andreeva and Zheng in his section.
“I have a lot of great memories and to come back here… as a two-time Australian Open champion is definitely something special,” Sabalenka, who won the Brisbane International title last week, said at the draw ceremony. “I hope I can continue to do what I do here in Australia.”
Third seed Coco Gauff is Sabalenka’s potential semi-final rival. Gauff has a tough first-round match against the former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and is in the same draw as the four-time major winner Naomi Osaka and seventh seed Jessica Pegula.
No. 2 Iga Świątek and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina are in the second half of the draw.
The Australian Open starts on Sunday morning in Melbourne (Saturday evening Eastern time in the US) and will last 15 days.
Doping and the cases involving Świątek and Sinner (which have still not been fully clarified) are a topic that overshadowed tennis in 2024 and is still a topic of conversation in Melbourne.
Fans have much more to say.
Djokovic will play in his first tournament under the new coach Andy Murrayhis former on-court rival and three-time major champion. No one has won the men’s title at Melbourne Park more often than Djokovic, although he said he still feels traumatized since the year he wasn’t allowed to play.
Nick Kyrgiosthe 2022 Wimbledon runner-up, who withdrew from his match against Djokovic this week with an abdominal strain, will face Jacob Fearnley in the first round if the bright Australian is healthy enough to face his first Grand Slam tournament since the US Open in 2022. Kyrgios is in the same section as Zverev.
