Alcaraz Overpowers De Minaur, Djokovic Eases Neck Concerns in Australian Open Warm-Ups

Days Before Australian Open Start, Alcaraz Dominates De Minaur and Djokovic Steadies vs. Tiafoe on Rod Laver Arena

© AFP

Adrien Guyot

le 15/01/2026 à 10h05

1 min to read

Alcaraz Carlos De Minaur Djokovic Novak Open d'Australie Tiafoe Frances

Days before the start of the Australian Open, ATP circuit stars are fine-tuning the final details of their preparation. On Rod Laver Arena, world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz faced local hero Alex de Minaur, always massively backed by his home crowd.

The Spaniard, fresh off a victory over Jannik Sinner in an exhibition in South Korea, prevailed over the Australian in two sets (6-3, 6-4). Alcaraz will kick off his 2026 tournament against Adam Walton, while de Minaur drew a tough draw and will face Matteo Berrettini in his opener.

Djokovic Dominates Tiafoe Before Chase for 11th Australian Open

Earlier in the day, Novak Djokovic was also on court. The Serb, master of Melbourne after winning the tournament 10 times between 2008 and 2023, took on Frances Tiafoe.

The 38-year-old, who had to cut short his training session the previous day due to neck pain, held firm and defeated the American by the same score as Alcaraz (6-3, 6-4).

Now the real action begins for the former world No. 1. Still pursuing a 25th Grand Slam title, Djokovic aims to claim his 11th Australian Open by early February and will first need to dispatch Pedro Martinez in his opener. Tiafoe, world No. 31, will begin his tournament against Jason Kubler.