Australian Open Draw Revealed: Sinner's Tough Path, Alcaraz Lands in Zverev's Quarter, Shelton-Humbert & De Minaur-Berrettini Blockbusters Set for First Round

Sinner, Alcaraz, and Djokovic Face Challenging Routes to Glory in Melbourne as Draw Promises Upsets and Thrilling Clashes in Unpredictable Grand Slam Start

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Adrien Guyot

le 15/01/2026 à 07h01

3 min to read

Alcaraz Carlos Arnaldi Matteo Atmane Terence Auger-Aliassime Felix Baez Sebastian Bellucci Mattia Bergs Zizou Berrettini Matteo Bonzi Benjamin Borges Nuno Brooksby Jenson Bublik Alexander Carreno Busta Cazaux Arthur Collignon Raphael De Minaur Diallo Gabriel Dimitrov Grigor Djokovic Novak Fonseca Joao Fritz Taylor Gaston Hugo Humbert Ugo Hurkacz Hubert Jacquet Kyrian Khachanov Karen Machac Tomas Mannarino Adrian Martinez Pedro Mensik Jakub Michelsen Alex Monfils Gael Moutet Corentin Mpetshi Perricard Muller Alexandre Musetti Lorenzo Norrie Cameron Open d'Australie Rinderknech Arthur Royer Valentin Rublev Andrey Ruud Casper Shelton Ben Sinner Jannik Tsitsipas Stefanos Walton Adam Zverev Alexander

The main draw of the Australian Open kicks off on January 18, with the first matches of the season's opening Grand Slam taking place across Melbourne Park.

Players in the tournament now know their fate, as the draw was conducted overnight from Wednesday to Thursday in Australia. Current two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner will start against Hugo Gaston.

Sinner and Alcaraz Learn Their Potential Paths to the Final

The Italian could face João Fonseca in the third round, Karen Khachanov in the fourth round, Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals, and Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. His main rival to prevent him from achieving the three-peat is Carlos Alcaraz.

The world number 1, who has never advanced past the quarterfinals in Melbourne, will first need to get past Adam Walton before considering a potential showdown with his Italian rival.

A clash against Corentin Moutet could occur in the third round, followed by a showdown against Alexander Bublik or Alex De Minaur in the quarterfinals and a semifinal against Alexander Zverev or Félix Auger-Aliassime.

Also among the top four in the rankings, ten-time tournament winner Novak Djokovic has drawn Pedro Martinez for his first round.

The Serbian, a semifinalist in the last two editions, is still chasing a 25th Grand Slam title. He is in the same quarter as Jakub Mensik and the same section as Lorenzo Musetti, Taylor Fritz, and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

French Players' Draw: Blockbuster Opener for Humbert, Monfils to Start Against a Qualifier

Fourteen French players are in the main draw of the men's tournament (Géa has cleared the qualifying hurdle). Besides Hugo Gaston, who will play against Sinner, Ugo Humbert also faces a tough start. As an unseeded player, he will be up against Ben Shelton in a first-round match that promises fireworks.

Valentin Royer will take on Taylor Fritz, while Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard will start against Sebastian Baez, who is in form early this season. In his final appearance in Melbourne, Gaël Monfils does not yet know the identity of his first opponent.

The 39-year-old player, a quarterfinalist last season, will indeed face a qualifier. If he wins, he will meet the winner of the Shelton-Humbert clash in the second round. Benjamin Bonzi, who defeated Medvedev in the last two Majors, will face Cameron Norrie right away.

Intriguing First-Round Matchups: De Minaur to Battle Berrettini from the Start

As often happens, the draw has revealed "popcorn" matches right from the first round. While Ben Shelton and Ugo Humbert will meet in a left-handed showdown, several other encounters will be worth watching in the early days of the competition.

This includes matches like Alexander Bublik vs. Jenson Brooksby, Matteo Berrettini vs. Alex De Minaur, Alexander Zverev vs. Gabriel Diallo, Matteo Arnaldi vs. Andrey Rublev, and Nuno Borges vs. Félix Auger-Aliassime in the top half.

In the bottom half, we also find matchups such as Lorenzo Musetti vs. Raphaël Collignon, Grigor Dimitrov vs. Tomas Machac, Jakub Mensik vs. Pablo Carreño Busta, Hubert Hurkacz vs. Zizou Bergs, Mattia Bellucci vs. Casper Ruud, and Karen Khachanov vs. Alex Michelsen. Find the full Australian Open 2026 draw below.