We don’t know whether to rejoice at the display or mourn in advance the elimination of one of our two beloved Frenchmen in the first round of the Australian Open. The draw carried out on Thursday in Melbourne in fact resulted in a Franco-French duel between Gaël Monfils, meanwhile qualified for the semi-final of the Auckland tournament, and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. If the poster will be attractive, the outcome of the meeting will inevitably sign the premature exit of one of the two, the old indestructible veteran or the potential servbot.
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As for the headliners, world number 1 Jannik Sinner can thank his lucky stars who avoided the part of the table with his three main rivals, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, whom he is sure not to cross before the final. Quite the opposite of Djokovic, launched in the quest for a 25th Grand Slam success, he who came up short last season, for the first time since 2017, who could face Dimitrov in the 8th and especially Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-final.
-Still entangled in his doping affair, Jannik Sinner could still meet the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas or the Australian Alex de Minaur in the quarter and Medvedev in the half. Carlos Alcaraz is on the road to the Kazakhstani Alexander Shevchenko who recently managed to defeat Tsitsipas (N.11) during the United Cup. Zverev will face Frenchman Lucas Pouille, who has a wild card, for his first match.
Caro Garcia falls on Naomi Osaka from the start
On the women’s side, number 1 Aryna Sabalenka will begin the defense of her title against American Sloane Stephens, former winner of the US Open. The Belarusian, seeded N.1, is aiming for a third consecutive victory at the Australian Open, a feat which has not been achieved since Martina Hingis between 1997 and 1999.
For her first match, world number 3 Coco Gauff will have to overcome Sofia Kenin, who won this same tournament in 2020. Second seed Iga Swiatek inherits a less arduous confrontation, facing the specialist Czech doubles, Katerina Siniakova. The Polish tennis star could, however, find Elena Rybakina and Emma Navarro on his way.
Notable match at the end of the draw: the Japanese Naomi Osaka and the French Caroline Garcia must face each other again for their very first match, as in the 2024 edition – the French player then won over her opponent.
