Local hopes of ending a half century-long drought in the Australian Open have been tested after No 6 seed Alex de Minaur was handed a nightmare draw for the first grand slam of the year beginning on Sunday.
In the first round at Melbourne Park the Australian faces former world No 6 Matteo Berrettini, who helped Italy win a third successive Davis Cup in the final in November.
Another former top 10 player, 29th seed Frances Tiafoe, is a potential third-round opponent, while the 10th seed Alexander Bublik looms in round four entering the tournament in career-best form.
If De Minaur can reach the quarter-finals – a stage he has never passed in grand slams – he is likely to play Carlos Alcaraz, the top seed who has beaten the Australian in all five matches the pair have played. Another Australian, 79th-ranked Adam Walton, will face Alcaraz in the first round.
Todd Woodbridge, the former doubles grand slam winner, said De Minaur’s draw against Berrettini, who dominated world No 27 Learner Tien at the Kooyong Classic on Tuesday, 6-2 6-2 – was a “tough one”, especially given Berrettini’s record against De Minaur.
The Italian has won their two most high-profile match-ups, at Wimbledon in 2023 and in the ATP Masters in Miami last year, although De Minaur levelled their career head-to-head at three-apiece with a victory in their last meeting in Vienna in October.
Woodbridge said De Minaur’s quarter of the draw, headlined by Alcaraz but also containing 19th-seeded American Tommy Paul, Spain’s 14th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Australians Aleksandar Vukic and Tristan Schoolkate – who will meet No 32 seed Corentin Moutet in the first round – was the one to watch.
“This is a very interesting section without a doubt, you’ve got Bublik there who can do anything,” he said. “Tommy Paul is always dangerous and has started to play very well in majors consistently, so it’s a big quarter [of the draw].”
In the women’s draw, 30th seed Maya Joint – the first Australian seeded in the women’s singles since 2022 – has a first round match against Czech player Tereza Valentova, the highly-touted 18-year-old who had already climbed to a ranking of 60.
Joint’s quarter of the draw features second seed Iga Swiatek and fifth seed Elena Rybakina, as well as Naomi Osaka and Australians Daria Kasatkina – in her first slam competing as a local – and Kimberley Birrell. The latter two face qualifiers in the opening round, as do countrywomen Priscilla Hon and Ajla Tomljanovic.
An Australian hasn’t won the men’s singles at their home grand slam since Mark Edmonson in 1976, but there will be at least nine trying this year depending on the outcome of qualifying, which concludes on Thursday evening.
Alexei Popyrin, the second-highest ranked Australian man, has also been given a challenging task first up. He faces France’s Alexandre Muller, who sits one place below the Sydneysider at No 50 in the world.
Thanasi Kokkinakis withdrew from the men’s singles on Thursday saying his body was “not ready yet” after he continues his recovery from surgery to his pectoral muscle. However, he may still compete in the men’s doubles with Nick Kyrgios. “We will still try and step out for the doubles and have some fun,” Kokkinakis posted on Instagram.
Australians’ first-round opponents
Men’s singles:
Adam Walton v Carlos Alcaraz (1)
Tristan Schoolkate v C. Moutet (32)
Aleks Vukic v Thiago Agustín Tirante
Alex de Minaur (6) v Matteo Berrettini
Alexei Popyrin v Alexandre Muller
Jordan Thompson (wildcard) v Juan Manuel Cerundolo
Rinky Hijikata (wildcard) v Adrian Mannarino
Chris O’Connell (wildcard) v qualifier
James Duckworth (wildcard) v qualifier
Dane Sweeny (qualifier) v TBC
Women’s singles:
Emerson Jones (wildcard) v Victoria Mboko (17)
Priscilla Hon (wildcard) v qualifier
Talia Gibson (wildcard) v Anna Blinkova
Ajla Tomljanovic v qualifier
Taylah Preston (wildcard) v Shuai Zhang
Maya Joint (30) v Tereza Valentova
Daria Kasatkina v qualifier
Kimberley Birrell v qualifier
Storm Hunter (qualifier) v TBC
