MELBOURNE, Australia – Defending champion Jannik Sinner and 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic landed on opposite sides in the first major draw of the season, preventing a rematch of last year’s semifinal.
Sinner bounced back from defeating Djokovic in the semifinals here last year to beat Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in the final to win his first Grand Slam singles title.
The top-ranked Sinner has a first-round match against Nicolas Jarry, while Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Medvedev are also in his half of the draw. Fritz starts the match against fellow American Jenson Brooksby.
Djokovic and third-ranked Carlos Alcaraz could meet in the quarterfinals, and a semifinal against second-ranked Alexander Zverev is also possible.
Defending champions from Thursday’s singles draw, Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, entered the official ceremony holding trophies.
Sabalenka won her second consecutive title, defeating Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 in the 2024 Melbourne Park final. Sabalenka is looking to win her third consecutive women’s singles title at Melbourne Park, last achieved by Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999.
Sabalenka had a tough opening match against 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens, and Sabalenka’s section features 17-year-olds Mirra Andreeva and Zheng.
“I have a lot of great memories. It’s really special to be back here as a two-time Australian Open winner,” Sabalenka, who won the Brisbane International title last week, said at the draw ceremony. “I hope I can continue the work I’m doing here in Australia.”
Third-seeded Coco Gauff is Sabalenka’s potential semifinal rival. Gauff played a challenging first round match against former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and was drawn in the same draw as four-time major winner Naomi Osaka and seventh seed Jessica Pegula.
Second-ranked Iga Swiatek and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina make up the other half.
The Australian Open begins on Sunday morning (Saturday night US ET) in Melbourne and runs for 15 days.
Doping and the incidents involving Swiatek and Sinner (still not fully resolved) have been topics that have shadowed tennis in 2024 and are still a hot topic in Melbourne.
There’s plenty more for fans to talk about.
Djokovic will play his first match with new coach Andy Murray, his former on-court rival and three-time major champion. No one has won the men’s title at Melbourne Park more often than Djokovic, but he said he was still traumatized by being sidelined for a year.
Nick Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up who withdrew from his match against Djokovic this week due to an abdominal strain, could face Jacob in the first round if the mercurial Australian is healthy enough to play in his first major since the 2022 US Open. He will face Jacob Fearnley. Kyrgios is in the same section as Zverev.
