Novak Djokovic faces a tough task in claiming his 25th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open this year.
The seventh-seeded Serbian will begin his campaign in Melbourne against rising American star Nishesh Basavareddy who recently forgo his NCAA eligibility to turn professional. Basavareddy has already enjoyed a strong start to the year by becoming the youngest American player to reach an ATP semi-final since 2016 at the ASB Classic in Auckland. Later in the draw, Djokovic could lock horns with a series of top names with him projected to play Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round followed by possible clashes with Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev.
Djokovic began his season last week in Brisbane where he reached the quarter-finals before suffering a surprise loss to America’s Reilly Opelka. He hasn’t won a major title since the 2023 US Open.
Defending champion Jannik Sinner will aim to become only the fourth man to win back-to-back Australian Open titles since 2000. The Italian top seed will start his campaign against Nicolas Jarry who was runner-up at the Rome Masters last year. In Sinner’s section, he could face compatriot Flávio Cobolli in the third round followed by possibly either Holger Rune or Hubert Hurkacz. He is on the opposite side of the draw to Djokovic, Alcaraz and Zverev.
21-year-old Alcaraz has a shot of claiming a career Grand Slam should he prevail in Australia. In what should be a relatively straightforward draw for the Spaniard, he opens up against Alexander Shevchenko and is on a collision course with 27th seed Jordan Thompson in the third round. He could then potentially face Great Britain’s Jack Draper who opens up against Mariano Navone. Draper comes into the tournament lacking matches after delaying his start to 2025 due to injury.
Alexander Zverev begins his quest for a maiden major title against former top 10 player Lucas Pouille. Zverev recently suffered a bicep injury that forced him out of the United Cup. He has been drawn in the same section as Nick Kyrgios who is playing in home Grand Slam for the first time in three years following a long absence due to injury. Kyrgios starts against Jacob Fearnley and will play Zverev if they both reach the third round. In this section of the draw, 14th seed Ugo Humbert is the second-highest-ranked player after Zverev.
Other notable first round matches include fourth seed Taylor Fritz taking on compatriot Jenson Brooksby who has returned to the sport following an 18-month ban for missing three anti-doping tests. Brooksby has been ranked as high as 33 in the world. Casper Ruud opens against Spain’s Jaume Munar and is in the same section as Felix Aiger-Aliassime and Tommy Paul. Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev faces Thai qualifier Kasidit Samrej and Andrey Rublev opens against a qualifier.
The full draw can be viewed HERE.
