Sports

Australian Open draw blockbusters: Matches to look forward to at Melbourne Park

January 16, 2026

Story byAlex de MinaurKieran FrancisThu, January 15, 2026 at 11:46 PM UTC·2 min readAustralian Open draw blockbusters: Matches to look forward to at Melbourne Park originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. With the Australian Open 2026 draw now being released, there is a plethora of quality matches to look forward to in the opening round. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAustralia's own Alex de Minaur features in one of the best opening matches, taking on Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini. On the women's side of the draw, two-time major winner Barbora Krejcikova squares off against world no.11 Diana Shnaider. The Sporting News looks at the blockbuster men's and women's matches in the first round. Australian Open matches to watch - First RoundMen's singlesAlex de Minaur vs. Matteo BerrettiniBerrettini has a 3-2 record against the sixth-seeded Australian, including a straight sets win at Wimbledon 2023. Alexander Bublik vs.

Australian Open draw blockbusters: Matches to look forward to at Melbourne Park

Credit: Yahoo

Key Highlights

Jenson BrooksbyThe flamboyant Kazak has risen to 10 in the world, while Brooksby has been ranked as high as 33. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAlexander Zverev vs.
Gabriel DialloDiallo won his first career title at the Libema Open in the Netherlands and has a career-high ranking of 33. Andrey Rublev vs.
Matteo ArnaldiA real banana skin for Rublev with Arnaldi reaching the fourth-round at a major on three occasions. Ben Shelton vs.
Ugo HumbertA blockbuster first-ever match-up between the dynamic duo - Shelton the world no.8, while Humbert was on the cusp of the top 10 in 2024Grigor Dimitrov vs.
Tomas MachacBoth players have slipped down the rankings but are both capable of reaching the second week. Karen Khachanov vs.

Tennis

Sources

Australian Open draw blockbusters: Matches to look forward to at Melbourne Park

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