The Australian Open draws were revealed on Thursday, and Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz could meet in the quarterfinals on the men’s side while women’s World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will face Sloane Stephens in the first round.
Djokovic, the 10-time Australian Open champion from Serbia, is the No. 7 seed and was placed in the same quadrant of the bracket as No. 3 seed Alcaraz of Spain.
Alcaraz, 21, has captured four major titles in his young career but needs the Australian Open to complete the career Grand Slam. He opens against Alexander Shevchenko of Kazakhstan while Djokovic will play American wild card Nishesh Basavareddy.
World No. 1 and defending champ Jannik Sinner of Italy opens against Chile’s Nicole Jarry. The 2024 Australian Open was the site of Sinner’s first Grand Slam breakthrough before he added to his total by winning the U.S. Open.
No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany faces Frenchman Lucas Pouille, a onetime Aussie Open semifinalist (2019), in the opening round. The fourth seed is Taylor Fritz, who draws Jenson Brooksby in an all-American first-round affair.
As for Sabalenka, the Belarusian has won each of the past two Australian Opens but may not face an easy path to a third. Her quarterfinal opponent could be No. 5 seed Qinwen Zheng of China, who won the Olympic gold medal in women’s singles last summer in Paris.
No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland faces Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova to start. One of the potential challenges in her quadrant of the bracket is No. 21 seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who prevailed in Melbourne in 2012 and 2013.
Coco Gauff is the No. 3 seed but faces a potentially tough match in the first round against fellow American Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champ.
Three other Americans with high seeds are No. 5 Jessica Pegula, No. 8 Emma Navarro and No. 10 Danielle Collins.
Collins lost to Australia’s Ash Barty in the 2022 championship match. She also was a semifinalist in 2019.
–Field Level Media
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