Australian Open 2026

[jimlosaltos]

First round of the AO starts Jan 17th, Aussie time. First round matches of interest include Venus Williams! No, this isn't an ancient thread popped to the top, the great one is backs Danilovic.

Also Bublik, off a title, vs Jenson Brooksby. Two different styles, manners indeed.

Here is the match schedule link. The Draws are here. Scores here.

Top seeded Alcaraz doesn't have much to play for, just that if he wins he'll become the youngest ever to hold a career slam. Here's his matches on seed. Others follow.

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[jimlosaltos]

Can Jannik Sinner defend his title?

History says yes: Sinner with two titles (2024, 2025), a 22-4 win-loss record, and holds the distinction of snapping Novak Djokovic's 33-match winning streak at the event in 2024, becoming only the second man in the Open Era to win the final after being two sets down.

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[jimlosaltos]

Seeds 3 and 4 would both have to, on draw/ beat both Sinner and Alcaraz to win. That's only happened once in nearly two years when both are entered.

1 of 2

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[jimlosaltos]

Zverev has the toughest draw of the four. Can he stay away from his usual 5 set early round matches to have enough left for the R4 and on?

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[jimlosaltos]

Punter's lines ( an homage to stroke ):
Links live to ESPN bios.

Note: Odds by DraftKings Sportsbook and subject to change. Australian Open Odds

(1) Aryna Sabalenka	+185	+110	-230	(2) Jannik Sinner	-120	-280	-700
(2) Iga Swiatek	+550	+250	+140	(1) Carlos Alcaraz	+175	-230	-500
(4) Amanda Anisimova	+750	+300	+125	(4) Novak Djokovic	16-1	+700	+140
(5) Elena Rybakina	+800	+300	+200	(11) Daniil Medvedev	25-1	+400	+200
(3) Coco Gauff	10-1	+400	+180	(3) Alexander Zverev	35-1	+800	+220
(8) Mirra Andreeva	16-1	+800	+240	(9) Taylor Fritz	60-1	15-1	+350
(16) Naomi Osaka	25-1	12-1	+700	(6) Alex De Minaur	65-1	14-1	+900
(9) Madison Keys	30-1	+700	+350	(8) Ben Shelton	70-1	17-1	+900
Marta Kostyuk	35-1	11-1	+650	(7) Felix Auger-Aliassime	80-1	18-1	+600
Victoria Mboko	35-1	18-1	+550	(5) Lorenzo Musetti	100-1	20-1	+650
(6) Jessica Pegula	40-1	16-1	+400	(10) Alexander Bublik	100-1	25-1	10-1

[jimlosaltos]

Day 5 of the Australian Open main draw was like a speed chess tournament -- buzzed through 14 of 17 matches in straight sets.

Only true drama, unless one is into salty handshakes where Cirstea's diss of Osaka stood out, was Stan Wawrinka. But the 40 year old dude on his final swing might have made up for the rest with his 5 set, come from behind win over qualifier Arthur Get of France: 4-6 6-3 3-6 7-5 7-6 [10-3]

Yes, the 40 year old had enough legs left to win a 10 point tiebreak at the end of the fifth set.
“Maybe I’m going to pick up a beer, I deserve one.”

"Roaring in delight after triumphing in front of Kia Arena’s electrified crowd in a marathon four hours and 33 minutes, the AO 2014 champion extended his own record of having competed in 50 five-set matches at Grand Slam level and tied Ivan Lendl with a staggering 58 five-set matches at ATP Tour-level, the most in the Open Era.

Competing in his 20th AO, the former world No.3 struck 63 winners, 13 of which were his recognisable, breathtaking backhand groundstrokes, en route to securing a coveted berth in the round of 32 at Melbourne Park for the first time since 2020."


AO Article:

https://ausopen.com/articles/news/marathon-stan-snaps-48-year-drought-ao-2026

Highlights 3:11 min YT

[stotty]

I haven’t tuned in to the Aussie Open far but will be doing so starting tomorrow. It makes sense as the first couple of rounds were always going to be predictable and purchasing a short term subscription to watch the event seems the watch to go. Anyway, it really has been awfully predictable so far with no real surprises. It’s a pity Fonseca bit the dust so early but at least Mensik is holding the fort for the youngsters. If all comes to pass, Mensik will have a shot at Novak, which might be slightly interesting. Novak has been very efficient so far which is critical if he is to have any chance of going deep in the tournament.

It’s a tragedy not having stroke around to give us his predicted 'match of the day’ and the lowdown on player form. He was taken away from us so unexpectedly and out of the blue.

[jimlosaltos]

I haven’t tuned in to the Aussie Open far but will be doing so starting tomorrow. It makes sense as the first couple of rounds were always going to be predictable and purchasing a short term subscription to watch the event seems the watch to go. Anyway, it really has been awfully predictable so far with no real surprises. It’s a pity Fonseca bit the dust so early but at least Mensik is holding the fort for the youngsters. If all comes to pass, Mensik will have a shot at Novak, which might be slightly interesting. Novak has been very efficient so far which is critical if he is to have any chance of going deep in the tournament.

It’s a tragedy not having stroke around to give us his predicted 'match of the day’ and the lowdown on player form. He was taken away from us so unexpectedly and out of the blue.

Yes, we miss stroke and the forum misses him

And, quite differently, Mensik who withdrew vs Djoko with an ab.

[jimlosaltos]

A Hole in Sinner's Armor?

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Caption: My photo of The fox "reimagined" (c)jfawcette

Jannik Sinner has seemed flawless. Can't hit through him. Can't hit around him. His backhand and forehand are both rock solid and weapons. He's one of the best serve returners in tennis. Distract him with tantrums and time outs? He's unflappable.

Turns out "the Fox" has a vulnerability - humid, 38 deg Centigrade (100 F) temperatures. Sinner's hard court winning streak was temporarily interrupted last year when he faded in "brutal" conditions in Hong Kong and defaulted. Yesterday, Sinner was down 4-6 6-3 1-3 to little-known American Eliot Spizzirri when the Heat Stress Scale reached 5.0 "promting an immediate halt to play to close Rod Laver Arena's roof". "I struggled physically today. I got lucky with the heat rule," Sinner said. "It started with the legs, got to the arms. I was cramping a bit all over," he said. "This is the sport. This is an area I know I need to improve."

"Spizzirri, a 24-year-old American who was making his debut in the Australian Open main draw, had never won three consecutive matches on the elite tour. Yet he converted 6 of 16 break-point chances against Sinner. Nobody had taken more serves off the Italian at the Australian Open since his 2024 final against Daniil Medvedev. In the second set, Sinner was given a rare time violation by umpire Fergus Murphy as he was preparing to serve. In a show of sportsmanship, Spizzirri intervened, approaching the umpire and saying he hadn't been ready to receive." ESPN article.

Final score: Sinner 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4

Some are skeptical about the timing of halting play. Fans remember the infamous match where Dominika Cibulkov?, I believe it was, won a set off a staggering, listless Serena Williams and appeared on her way to one of her biggest wins ever, only to have play stopped for a 45 minute break to close the roof. Back then, there was no concrete heat rule and the decision apparently went to Craig Tiley, the AO Tour Director who mysteriously decided it was too hot for Serena to play but NOT too hot on any other court, even ones where the temperature measured higher. Domi protested to no avail. Tiley is suspected to jigger schedules to aid seeds, particularly his fav Novak Djokovic. And Tiley provided Djokovic with misleading medical documents, which helped the Serb enter Australia in violation of immigration rules during Covid. But this stoppage appears to be legitimate.

Learning How Far Learner Can Go. SoCal's Learner Tien poses a question for tennis fans: How far can an excellent player go if he lacks a big weapon? The 20 year old 5 ft 11 in lefty keeps answering "further", yesterday by beating "three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 to become the youngest men’s singles quarter-finalist at the major since Nick Kyrgios in 2015." That also means Learner Tien is the youngest American to reach the quarter-finals at a major since 2002. Next up for Learner is Sasha Zverev a perrential 'Slam bridesmaid. More on ATP site.


Is Sabalenka the Best Clutch Player in Tennis? Aryna was known for facing nerves and serving problems. Was. No more From BBC: Aryna Sabalenka broke Novak Djokovic's Open era record of consecutive tie-breaks won at Grand Slams to defeat teenage Canadian Victoria Mboko and set up a mouth-watering Australian Open quarter-final against another of tennis' rising stars - 18-year-old Iva Jovic.The two-time champion won 6-1 7-6 (7-1) on Rod Laver Arena - sealing it with her 20th tie-break triumph in a row - and is yet to drop a set at this year's Australian Open. "It's putting pressure on my opponents so that is what I like playing tie-breaks nowadays," I just go into the tie-breaks and try to not think about this is a tie-break and I try and play point by point and I guess that's the key to this consistency."

[jimlosaltos]

Status update as of mid Jan 25

Men's Quarterfinals Near

Alcaraz vs de Minaur
Zverev vs Tien
Djokovic vs winner of Musetti-Fritz
Winner Shelton-Ruud vs Sinner or Darderi


Women's Quarters So Far

Sabalenka vs Jovic
Gauff vs Svitolina {who upset another teen Mirra Andreeva}
Winner of Pegual-Keys (defending champ} vs Wang or Anismova
Winner of Rybakin-Mertens vs Inglis (a 28 yo qualifier ) or Swiatek (look for a "career slam")

[jimlosaltos]

Off Court
Naomi Osaka's walk-on outfit is a hoot. What do you do to follow up after appearing as a Labubu? Gossamer, a Melania hat and umbrella.

[jimlosaltos]

Men's Quarterfinals


Alcaraz vs de Minaur {Does the Aussie have a puncher's chance? One of best hard court records in last year

Zverv vs Tien. One of the biggest, all-around hitters in tennis vs perhaps the best today at redirecting power.

Musetti vs Djokovic Novak may have lucked out when Jacob Mensik, who beat Novak on a hard court when they met last year had to default in the prior round. Musetti's worst surface is hard courts, and he's only beaten Novak once, that on clay. But the Italian's game is diversifying, growing and I'm sure he still remembers going up 2 sets to love on Novak when he was only 17 yo.

Shelton vs Sinner Like Novak, Jannik escaped, his Houdini imitation occurred in an early round when a heat delay let a wobby Sinner recover. As for Ben, he took a long time to recover from an apparent shoulder injury, but he has. H2H 8 in a row to Sinner vs Shelton sole victory in their first match



Women's Quarterfinals


Sabalenka vs Jovic. World number one vs American Cinderella of the event, 18 year old Jovic whose smile looks years younger.

Gauff vs Svitolina The old pro Elena upset one younger upstart in Mirra Andreeva. Has she got enough left to take out another?

Pegula vs Anisimova The USA hasn't had this many women in a slam quarters since ... ah, I'm not going to look it up. A long time. Does the Billion-heiress' skill top Amanda's power?

Rybakina vs Swiatek Last they met a renewed Rybkina with her coach back handed a bagel to the WTA's leading baker. But Iga is going for a "Career Slam" down under.

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[joeldrucker]

Great set of quarterfinals all-around. Thank you, Jim, for the compelling previews. I've written about all of these players, including a very long story about Jovic a couple of years ago. She's very impressive -- focus, hard-working, intelligent.

[don_budge]

2017 Australian Open Thread...Then vs. Now

Quite a few knowledgeable forum posters contributing to a rowdy Australian Open thread...back in the day. Very entertaining. It doesn't hurt having Roger Federer in the draw either.

https://forum.tennisplayer.net/62276-2017-australian-open-atp-2000-melbourne-australia

[jimlosaltos]

Coco Gauff goes out disappointingly to 31 yo vet Elina Svitolina 1 and 2.
Svitolina continues a great run, taking out Mirra Andreeva and Coco back-to-back to make the semis. In fact, I just realized, Elina's won 5 matches in 10 straight sets.

For Coco, it's the same old same old - errors under pressure. She's on her third set of coaches in relatively rapid succession without results.
Vid Short: Frustrated, Coco finds a bit of privacy and smashes her racket trying, she said, to release her frustration there rather than direct it at other people.
https://x.com/TheTennisLetter/status...971370290?s=20