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Second seed Alcaraz opens against Gasquet, Tsitsipas faces Berrettini
January 11, 2024
Novak Djokovic is a 10-time Australian Open champion.Kelly Delfina/Getty Images
Novak Djokovic is a 10-time Australian Open champion.
By ATP Staff
Ten-time champion Novak Djokovic could face former World No. 1 Andy Murray in the third round of the Australian Open.

The potential blockbuster was revealed at the draw ceremony Thursday at Melbourne Park. Djokovic will open against a qualifier or lucky loser and if he wins, will face a home favourite: Marc Polmans or Alexei Popyrin. Murray begins his event against 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Djokovic is fresh off a season in which he won three majors to increase his total to 24, a standalone record. One year ago, the Serbian at Melbourne Park tied what was then Rafael Nadal’s record for most Slam titles and reclaimed No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings from Carlos Alcaraz. The 36-year-old has won 28 consecutive matches at the season’s first major.


The highest-seeded player in Djokovic’s quarter is the man he beat in the final last year: Stefanos Tsitsipas. The seventh seed, who has made three additional Australian Open semi-finals, will need to be sharp with former Top 10 star Matteo Berrettini his opening opponent.

Alcaraz, the second seed, will begin his tournament against former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet. Alcaraz leads the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head 1-0 after defeating the Frenchman 6-2, 6-2 in the 2021 Umag final.

The Spaniard did not play in Melbourne last year and this will be his third appearance. The last time he appeared in 2022, an 18-year-old Alcaraz lost in the third round to Berrettini.

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Third seed Daniil Medvedev could play a qualifier or lucky loser in his first two matches (Emil Ruusuvuori or a qualifier/lucky loser loom in the second round). The two-time Australian Open finalist could take on 27th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round. The Canadian will face a stern opening test against former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem.

Fourth seed Jannik Sinner, fresh off a memorable run to the championship match of the Nitto ATP Finals, plays Botic van de Zandschulp in the first round.

Besides Djokovic, the only other Australian Open men’s singles champion in the draw is Stan Wawrinka (2014). The Swiss, currently World No. 56, will face a tricky first-round challenge against 20th seed Adrian Mannarino. The 16th seed, 2023 quarter-finalist Ben Shelton, is in that section and opens against former Top 10 standout Roberto Bautista Agut.

The top Australian hope, 10th seed Alex de Minaur, will try to withstand former World No. 3 Milos Raonic’s booming serve in the first round.

Aussie hope De Minaur faces darkhorse Raonic
January 11, 2024
Returning finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas has reached the semi-finals in four of the past five years at Melbourne Park.Getty Images
Returning finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas has reached the semi-finals in four of the past five years at Melbourne Park.
By ATP Staff
Thursday’s Australian Open draw has produced a number of intriguing first-round match-ups, but two in particular stand out: 2023 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Matteo Berrettini and Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Dominic Thiem.

Below is a look at five matches to watch in the first round of the Australian Open, which begins Sunday at Melbourne Park.

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Matteo Berrettini
We meet here again! Back in 2019, these two heavy hitters met in the first round of the Australian Open, with Tsitsipas emerging a four-set winner in the first of their three career Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings, all of which the Greek has won.

Seventh seed Tsitsipas has been a second-week mainstay at Melbourne Park, reaching the semi-finals or better in four of the past five years, including last year when he reached the final (l. to Djokovic). He came into the 2024 season with doubts about his back, sitting out his first singles match at the United Cup before looking physically good in matches against Steven Diez and Alexander Zverev.

Berrettini, who begins the season with Rafael Nadal’s former coach Francisco Roig, ended his 2023 season at the US Open, where he suffered an ankle injury. Despite seeing his Pepperstone ATP Ranking drop to No. 125, the former World No. 6 and 2022 Australian Open semi-finalist remains a big danger with him booming serve and forehand and is an opponent the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion will not be taking lightly.




Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Dominic Thiem
Both these players badly need a confidence-boosting run at the Australian Open, but only one will get it after the draw pitted them against each other. The players have met just once before, with Thiem claiming a straight-sets win in the fourth round of the 2020 US Open.

Auger-Aliassime, who eased his way into 2024 by just playing mixed doubles at United Cup as he recovers from a knee injury, suffered an opening-round loss in Auckland this week to German Daniel Altmaier. The Canadian has reached the fourth round or better the past three years in Melbourne.

Thiem, the 2020 Australian Open finalist, is still looking to work his way back to the top of the men’s game following a wrist injury in 2022. The 2020 US Open champion and two-time Roland Garros finalist lost to Rafael Nadal in the first round of Brisbane last week and the draw didn’t do him any favours in Melbourne by matching him with Felix.

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Stan Wawrinka vs. Adrian Mannarino
Stan Wawrinka, the 2014 Australian Open champion, will match his powerful game with the craftiness of French left-handed Adrian Mannarino, who at 35 comes into the Open at a career-high No. 20.

The players have met twice, with Mannarino winning both hard-court meetings in 2015 and 2022.

Watch for how often Wawrinka takes his aggressive backhand down the line to negate Mannarino’s ability to dig into extended forehand to backhand rallies. The 38-year-old Swiss has not reached the second week of a major since 2020, when he made it to the quarters at Melbourne Park.

Deep into his career, Mannarino will be looking to build on his banner year in 2023, which netted three titles.

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Alex de Minaur v Milos Raonic
On recent form, newly minted Top 10 member Alex de Minaur looks a heavy favourite in his first-round battle with Milos Raonic.

Fresh off three consecutive Top 10 wins at the United Cup over Taylor Fritz, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev, the Aussie comes into his home Slam in the best form of his life. Raonic, on the other hand, is far from his best playing days as a former World No. 3 and Wimbledon finalist. The Canadian has played just one Davis Cup match since last year's US Open and finds himself at No. 317 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

But dismiss the big-serving Canadian at your peril! De Minaur knows that and certainly won’t. The 24-year-old won their lone battle in 2018 in Brisbane, but is well aware of the first-strike tennis that 33-year-old Raonic can use to take the racquet out of his opponents’ hands.

Grigor Dimitrov vs. Marton Fucsovics
Fan favourite Grigor Dimitrov seems primed for a big Australian Open after snapping a six-year title drought last week in Brisbane, where he won 10 consecutive sets to close out his campaign. But if there’s one dangerous floater you don’t want to face in the first round of a major — especially the Australian Open — it’s tough-as-nails Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.

Known for his mantra of ‘Every day, gym day,’ Fucsovics always enters the new season in peak physical condition and ready to cause early-round upsets at Melbourne Park, where he has reached the third round twice and the fourth round twice.

Dimitrov will be well advised to not allow this to become a fifth-set war of attrition and will look to use his serve and forehand to dictate play, keep points short and get back into the lockeroom as soon as possible.

But Fucsovics may have other plans.

In other interesting first-round matches, returning quarter-finalist Ben Shelton faces gritty Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut who is on the comeback from injury, but who never gives an opponent an inch. Frances Tiafoe, who has not been back to the second week in Melbourne since his quarter-final breakthrough in 2019, faces a testing opener against former Cincinnati Open champion Borna Coric.

Rublev, Fritz, Tiafoe will also play on Day 1 at hard-court major
January 11, 2024
Jannik Sinner in action at an exhibition on Wednesday in Melbourne.Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images
Jannik Sinner in action at an exhibition on Wednesday in Melbourne.
By ATP Staff
Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner will headline the men’s singles action on a historic Day 1 at the 2024 Australian Open.

With the main draw at the hard-court Grand Slam set to begin on a Sunday for the first time in its history, Djokovic will take on a qualifier or lucky loser as he bids for a record-extending 11th title in Melbourne.

Djokovic’s Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry with Jannik Sinner was one of the most gripping storylines of the 2023 ATP Tour season. The 22-year-old Sinner, who will compete as the fourth seed, will also play his first-round match on Sunday when he takes on the No. 59 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Botic van de Zandschulp.

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Andrey Rublev will also be in action. The fifth seed, who kick-started his 2024 season by winning his 15th ATP Tour crown at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open, plays Thiago Seyboth Wild. Others confirmed to be starting their campaigns on Sunday include 12th seed Taylor Fritz, who plays Facundo Diaz Acosta, and 17th seed Frances Tiafoe, who meets Borna Coric.

Christopher O’Connell (vs. Cristian Garin), Jason Kubler (vs. Daniel Elahi Galan) and Adam Walton (vs. Matteo Arnaldi) are the home favourites confirmed for a Sunday start, not including any potential qualifiers/lucky losers. The order of play for the Day 1 action at Melbourne Park will be announced on Friday.

Australian Open men’s singles matches confirmed for Sunday, 14 January:
Novak Djokovic vs. Qualifier/Lucky loser
Alexander Shevchenko vs. Jaume Munar
Christopher O’Connell vs. Cristian Garin
Taylor Fritz vs. Facundo Diaz Acosta
Fabian Marozsan vs. Marin Cilic
Francisco Cerundolo vs. Qualifier/Lucky loser
Jannik Sinner vs. Botic van de Zandschulp
Pedro Cachin vs. Qualifier/Lucky loser
Daniel Elahi Galan vs. Jason Kubler
J.J. Wolf vs. Sebastian Baez
Frances Tiafoe vs. Borna Coric
Tomas Machac vs. Qualifier/Lucky loser
Matteo Arnaldi vs. Adam Walton
Pavel Kotov vs. Arthur Rinderknech
Quentin Halys vs. Qualifier/Lucky loser
Thiago Seyboth Wild vs. Andrey Rublev