For the first time, the Australian Open begins on a Sunday, as the tournament expands to a 15-day main draw schedule.
In the men’s singles draw, Novak Djokovic is the top seed, as well as the defending and 10-time champion. The only other man present who has won a Major in the last two seasons is second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz. Other notable names include 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev as well as Jannik Sinner, who had an excellent end to the 2023 season, defeating Djokovic twice.
On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek is atop the draw, though she’s yet to reach the final of this tournament. Aryna Sabalenka is the second seed and defending champion, having reached the championship match at both hard court Majors last year. The 2023 runner-up, Elena Rybakina, has returned from injury and gotten off to a strong start in 2024. And the winner of the last Slam, Coco Gauff, also arrives in Melbourne having already won a title this season. Plus, former champions and new mothers Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber both make their returns to Grand Slam play.
First round singles play will be stretched across three days, though Sunday’s Order of Play still features some significant action. Both defending champions, Djokovic and Sabalenka, will start their title defenses as heavy opening round favorites on Sunday evening. Other matches on Day 1 which are expected to be more competitive feature the aforementioned red-hot ginger Sinner, as well as 2018 champion Caroline Wozniacki and 2022 US Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Sunday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Jannik Sinner (4) vs. Botic van de Zandschulp – 12:00pm on Rod Laver Arena
Sinner went 64-15 in 2023, and from July through November specifically, went an outstanding 32-5. During that five-month stretch, he won three singles titles (including his first at Masters 1000 level), reached his first Major semifinal, and propelled Italy to the Davis Cup crown. And in November alone, Jannik defeated Novak Djokovic twice in singles, and once in doubles.
Van de Zandschulp was a breakout player in 2021, advancing to the quarterfinals of the US Open as a qualifier. A year later, he achieved a career-high ranking of No.22. But Botic struggled in 2023, losing more matches than he won, and failing to go beyond the second round at any Slam.
In their first career meeting, Sinner is a significant favorite. While he is yet to play a match in 2024, that is understandable, and likely a smart move, after how much tennis Jannik played during the second half of 2023. Drawn into the same half as Djokovic, a semifinal matchup between the two is highly anticipated.
Liudmila Samsonova (13) vs. Amanda Anisimova – Third on Kia Arena
Samsonova won 34 matches last season, reaching three finals (Abu Dhabi, Montreal, Beijing). However, she lost all three of those finals, and only four of those 34 wins came at Majors. Liudmila will certainly be looking to win matches on bigger stages in 2024.
Anisimova is one of many players who have bravely spoken openly regarding their mental health struggles. Amanda took an extended break from the sport as of last May, returning just last week in Auckland, where she went 1-1 and earned a victory over another Russian, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Anisimova has twice advanced to the second week of this tournament, upsetting two-time champion Naomi Osaka in 2022.
Their only previous matchup also occurred in Australia, with Anisimova prevailing 7-5, 6-3 a year ago in Adelaide. But this early on in her return to tennis, it would be surprising if she defeats the 13th seed again on Sunday.
Magda Linette (20) vs. Caroline Wozniacki (WC) – 7:00pm on Margaret Court Arena
Linette was a surprise semifinalist here a year ago, taking out four seeded players along the way (Kontaveit, Alexandrova, Garcia, Pliskova). However, Magda struggled to follow-up on that huge result, losing a lot of matches during the rest of the season, including her last seven. She is 1-2 to start the year, and is surely feeling a lot of pressure to defend her semifinal points, as she could drop out of the top 50 with an early loss.
Wozniacki is now 4-4 since coming out of retirement last summer, with three of those victories coming during her run to the fourth round of the US Open. In her only match this season, she lost in straight sets to fellow mother Elina Svitolina in Auckland, though it’s worth noting Svitolina has been in fine form. This will be Caroline’s first match in Melbourne since she retired here in 2020, losing to Ons Jabeur 7-5 in the third.
Wozniacki is 2-0 against Linette, and claimed both their encounters in straight sets, back in 2016 and 2017. With so much pressure on Magda, and with Caroline so popular amongst the Australian public, Wozniacki should be favored. Caroline is one of the best players on tour at drawing errors out of her opponent, especially when they are not playing their best.
Frances Tiafoe (17) vs. Borna Coric – Last on Margaret Court Arena
After reaching new heights in 2022, achieving his first Slam semifinal, Tiafoe performed rather strongly in 2023. He accumulated 39 match wins and two singles titles (Houston, Stuttgart). Frances reached the third round or better at all four Majors last year, and was a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open back in 2019.
After reaching new heights in 2022, achieving his first Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati, Coric struggled in 2023, winning only 22 matches. He lost in the first round at three of the four Majors, and after losing in the first round of the US Open, he shut down his season. Borna went 1-1 to start this season at the United Cup, and advanced to the fourth round of this event back in 2019.
Their only prior meeting took place six years ago in Davis Cup on clay, when Coric won in five sets to clinch the tie for Croatia in his home country. Croatia would go on to win the Davis Cup that year, defeating France in the final. But on Sunday, I favor Tiafoe to even their head-to-head, as he’s been the better and more consistent performer this past year.
Other Notable Matches on Sunday:
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Dino Prizmic (Q) – Djokovic has won this event the last four times he’s played it, but last week in the United Cup, his 43-match win streak in Australia came to an end at the hands of Aussie Alex de Minaur. Notably, Novak was treated during that match for a wrist injury. Prizmic is an 18-year-old Croatian qualifier making his Major debut, who only owns three ATP-level match wins to date.
Ella Seidel (Q) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Sabalenka went 55-14 in 2023, reaching all four Slam semifinals, and just narrowly missed ending the year as the World No.1. Seidel is an 18-year-old German qualifier playing for her first tour-level match win.
Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.
