Defending champion Jannik Sinner and 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic arrived on opposite sides in the first major draw of the season, ruling out a rematch of last year’s semi-final.
Melbourne, Australia — Defending champion Jannik Sinner and 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic arrived on opposite sides in the first major draw of the season, ruling out a rematch of last year’s semi-final.
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 draw quarters.
Djokovic is in the same quarter as third-place Carlos Alcaraz and in the same half as second-place Alexander Zverev.
In Thursday’s draw to set the singles bracket, defending champions Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka entered the 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 Melbourne Park women’s singles title, last achieved by Martina Hingis between 1997 and 1999.
Sabalenka had a tough opening match against 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens, and her section included 17-year-olds Mirra Andreeva and Zheng.
Third-seeded Coco Gauff is Sabalenka’s potential semifinal rival. Gauff had a tough first round match against former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and was drawn in the same draw as seventh seed Jessica Pegula.
The Australian Open begins in Melbourne on Sunday morning (Saturday night EST) and runs for 15 days.
___
More AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
