Australian Open 2026 - Men’s Singles

Choose your Champion

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    91
  • Poll closed .
Rattie

Rattie

G.O.A.T.
Of the 32 seeds; these are the top 10:
1. Carlos Alcaraz
2. Jannik Sinner
3. Alexander Zverev
4. Novak Djokovic
5. Lorenzo Musetti
6. Alex de Minaur
7. FAA
8. Ben Shelton
9. Taylor Fritz
10. Alexander Bublik

Rune, Fils and Draper, of those who would have been seeded, are out through injury.
Wildcards given to Bu Yunchaokete, James Duckworth, Rinky Hijikata, Kyrian Jacquet, Patrick Kypson, Christopher O’Connell, Jordan Thompson and ….in his last year on tour, Stan Wawrinka.

Notable currently has been the return after a long absence of Hubie Hurkacz, who’s shown good form in the United Cup and will be a dangerous floater.; Taylor Fritz who has dropped from 4 to 9 recently and is struggling with knees issues, evident also at the United Cup. And Alex Bublik who just defeated Musetti in Hong Kong to win the title there and enter the top 10. Tommy Paul also returns after a three month absence and is seeded 19

Meanwhile, the big guns, have met up to play an exhibition match in Korea, both demonstrating their skill and entertaining the crowds…and each other by the looks of it. Carlitos’s fans may have noticed the new service motion in action, which looked to be yet another improvement, thanks to Sami Lopez. Attention will no doubt surround his first outing since his split with JCF; how he handles that will be key I would imagine.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2011651093072052702

https://twitter.com/x/status/2011651695718383996

https://twitter.com/x/status/2011651506634965059

EDIT: Draw added



 
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Definitely Sinner is the favorite, but he is by no means a definite choice to win the final. Carlos will always raise his level to extreme heights against Sinner and I would argue that the ATP finals presented conditions far more disadvantageous for Carlos than AO does.
 
Still a few days until the main event, so let's have some fun with the preambles

AO small fry report - day 1 of qualifying

Players whose name I recognize that have lost in the 1st round of qualifying:

Jarry
Basilashvili
Yen-Hsun Lu (he's still around!)
Evans (got ROFLMAO'd by completely unknown 19-y.o. Japanese guy, Sakamoto)

Some players yet to play their Q1 match: McDonald, Harris, Molcan, Cruz Hewitt (as the lowest ranked WC, he will probably lose horribly), Peniston :D

NextGen watch

Won their Q1 match: Basavareddy, Prizmic, new challenger Sakamoto
Lost their Q1 match: Engel
Yet to play their Q1 match: Roblox, Jodar, Landaluce, Budkov
Already in the main draw: Tien

Kyrgios News

Not in the qualifying entry list, nor in the main draw entry list. Might play doubles?

The Tomic Chronicles

Most importantly, Lord Tomic has won his match in straights over 25th seed #138 Hugo Dellien, the Bolivian Butcher.

Will play #185 Fery next, a 23 y.o. babyfaced Brit that I've never heard about.
 
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I had high hopes for Basilashvilli, liked his shots but looks like he is on the way out. Wow Tomic won, maybe there is some hope. Good to hear Basavareddy won, this is his test whether he can make the main draw or wait till US open.
 
AO small fry report - day 2 of qualifying

Not a very eventful day.

NextGen watch
7/8 of the 2025 NextGen finals players won their Q1 match (only Engel lost). Nice showing.

Hewitt watch
Cruz lost, although not embarassingly so (6-3 6-3).
Then again, so did all the other Aussie WCs in the qualies draw, so it's kinda unfair to single him out.

Finland watch
Somehow, Nishikori got injured again. Also, Peniston got spit-roasted with a double breadstick.
 
MichaelNadal said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2011014543812800519
Click to expand...
The following tweet from that account breaks it down:

Alcaraz is modeling Djokovic’s cobra position, where the hitting wrist gets into a curled or flexed position as the ball is released. The toss is up and the tip of the racket is down.

Djokovic’s swing is a bit more relaxed as the tip of his racket is completely facing the ground and his wrist is more curled. Still, a huge improvement for Alcaraz.

The benefit of the curled cobra position, besides relaxation and fluidity, is that it facilitates a more closed racket face through the swing and a cleaner throwing motion. The wrist being curled makes it less likely for a player to open the palm and the racket face.

You can see in the second photo that Alcaraz has a more closed racket position as the racket passes over his head. He’ll be able to hit big serves with less effort.
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/2010964246256095483
creepy-smile.gif
 
aldeayeah said:
Still a few days until the main event, so let's have some fun with the preambles

AO small fry report - day 1 of qualifying

Players whose name I recognize that have lost in the 1st round of qualifying:

Jarry
Basilashvili
Yen-Hsun Lu (he's still around!)
Evans (got ROFLMAO'd by completely unknown 19-y.o. Japanese guy, Sakamoto)

Some players yet to play their Q1 match: McDonald, Harris, Molcan, Cruz Hewitt (as the lowest ranked WC, he will probably lose horribly), Peniston :D

NextGen watch

Won their Q1 match: Basavareddy, Prizmic, new challenger Sakamoto
Lost their Q1 match: Engel
Yet to play their Q1 match: Roblox, Jodar, Landaluce, Budkov
Already in the main draw: Tien

Kyrgios News

Not in the qualifying entry list, nor in the main draw entry list. Might play doubles?

The Tomic Chronicles

Most importantly, Lord Tomic has won his match in straights over 25th seed #138 Hugo Dellien, the Bolivian Butcher.

Will play #185 Fery next, a 23 y.o. babyfaced Brit that I've never heard about.
Click to expand...
Those of us who follow US College tennis will recognize Fery as a highly touted junior who played at Stanford. He was unfortunate to have numerous injuries that limited his playing time while in college, so hopefully he can stay healthy.
 
aldeayeah said:
Still a few days until the main event, so let's have some fun with the preambles
...
Lost their Q1 match: Engel
Click to expand...
Thanks for the update. Sorry Evans lost.

Was Engel the German kid who market out the shape of a cross on the court, and then lied down in the middle of it, after winning an early round (due to retirement, I believe) match after getting a WC?
 
robyrolfo said:
Thanks for the update. Sorry Evans lost.

Was Engel the German kid who market out the shape of a cross on the court, and then lied down in the middle of it, after winning an early round (due to retirement, I believe) match after getting a WC?
Click to expand...
No, no, no. That was Diego Dedura. If I were Engel, I would hate to be confused with that kid. It was funny only because he did it after beating Denis the Menace (rapper name Shapo) There was no injury btw.

Engel, on the other hand, seems to be pretty well behaved as far as I’ve seen.
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/2011356931856752884

Translation:
Concern over Djokovic's physical condition.

The Serb trained today with Medvedev first, and then, in a second training session with Lehecka, he retired after 12 minutes with visible neck pain and having appeared very fatigued during the exchanges.

We recall that he already withdrew from Adelaide as he didn't feel physically up to it.

The Australian Open starts in just four days.


Seems to be carrying an injury, considering he pulled out of Adelaide.
 
Rattie said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2011356931856752884

Translation:
Concern over Djokovic's physical condition.

The Serb trained today with Medvedev first, and then, in a second training session with Lehecka, he retired after 12 minutes with visible neck pain and having appeared very fatigued during the exchanges.

We recall that he already withdrew from Adelaide as he didn't feel physically up to it.

The Australian Open starts in just four days.


Seems to be carrying an injury, considering he pulled out of Adelaide.
Click to expand...
So he’s reaching the semifinals at least. Djokovic and Sinner rarely lose early when playing through ‘injury concerns’ and they have injury concerns every slam
 
Looking forward to it! Probably my favourite slam of the 4 these days, always has great coverage with lots of uploads of interviews and off-court action before you even consider the tennis almost always high quality there! Will be interesting to see the draw, Would laugh so much if they put Wawrinka vs Djokovic R1 but we'll see!
 
aldeayeah said:
Evans (got ROFLMAO’d by completely unknown 19-y.o. Japanese guy, Sakamoto)

The Tomic Chronicles

Will play #185 Fery next, a 23 y.o. babyfaced Brit that I've never heard about.
Click to expand...
“Completely unknown” Sakamoto and never heard of Fery? You sound like a casual.

NaomiKonjuhPotapova said:
Rei won juniors 2 years ago lol not completely unknown
Click to expand...
Thank you.
scmyers said:
Those of us who follow US College tennis will recognize Fery as a highly touted junior who played at Stanford. He was unfortunate to have numerous injuries that limited his playing time while in college, so hopefully he can stay healthy.
Click to expand...
Thank you.
 
Moose Malloy said:
Ofner thought he won the match when the score was 7-1 in the 3rd set tb, then goes on to lose it 13-11 to Basavareddy. looks like Basavareddy then makes the choke signal after he wins the match! Crazy...
Click to expand...
I saw that. Maybe it was related to something else... but if he's doing that about Ofner, that's a real lack of class there.

RSJfan said:
The best part is after he won the point at 6-1 and thought he won he does the head point. :laughing:
Click to expand...
Ha, that's such a good observation. As if the head point couldn't get any worse, lol...

Rattie said:
The Serb trained today with Medvedev first, and then, in a second training session with Lehecka, he retired after 12 minutes with visible neck pain and having appeared very fatigued during the exchanges...
Click to expand...
Wow, he's starting with the exaggerated injury stuff REALLY early this year!
 
I’d have said Sinner is a lock for this because this tournament uses the super slow, ultra-dead Dunlop AO balls, but Medvedev seemed to imply they might be faster this year, which helps Carlos. I’ll still say Sinner, but it’s 70-30. CA can still run into some trouble against a big, flat hitter in night conditions, and he puts a disproportionate amount of pressure on himself to win this particular event, which is probably why he let Novak get in his head last year.

A lot of people are hyping Bublik, but I think he will flop. He never does well in back-to-back events. And Musetti is my darkhorse, I think people are really underestimating him (though yes, I still wouldn’t be surprised if he went out early).

Beyond that, I’m dreading this event. As a Daniil fan it’s my white whale, and I know the odds are almost impossible for him. And once he’s lost, that means the dream of there being justice for that hellish night 4 years ago (and then reliving the trauma over two years later) is over for another year, and who knows how many more years there will be. All there is to do is pray to God, even though it is wrong and idolatry, that he can provide the miracles he needs.
 
aldeayeah said:
Still a few days until the main event, so let's have some fun with the preambles

AO small fry report - day 1 of qualifying

Players whose name I recognize that have lost in the 1st round of qualifying:

Jarry
Basilashvili
Yen-Hsun Lu (he's still around!)
Evans (got ROFLMAO'd by completely unknown 19-y.o. Japanese guy, Sakamoto)

Some players yet to play their Q1 match: McDonald, Harris, Molcan, Cruz Hewitt (as the lowest ranked WC, he will probably lose horribly), Peniston :D

NextGen watch

Won their Q1 match: Basavareddy, Prizmic, new challenger Sakamoto
Lost their Q1 match: Engel
Yet to play their Q1 match: Roblox, Jodar, Landaluce, Budkov
Already in the main draw: Tien

Kyrgios News

Not in the qualifying entry list, nor in the main draw entry list. Might play doubles?

The Tomic Chronicles

Most importantly, Lord Tomic has won his match in straights over 25th seed #138 Hugo Dellien, the Bolivian Butcher.

Will play #185 Fery next, a 23 y.o. babyfaced Brit that I've never heard about.
Click to expand...
Actual "small" fry, Aussie Dane Sweeney, who cuts an imposing figure at 5'7" 138 lbs, gets through qualifying to the Main Draw for the 2nd time in his young career. He's got a good Youtube channel called "Life on the Tour" where he chronicles his time on tour and the grind of lower level tennis.
www.youtube.com

Life on the Tour

A tennis vlog from the heart showcasing the lives of Dane Sweeny & Calum Puttergill on and off the tour.
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
He had dropped into the 700's and was mentally struggling with "the grind" before getting his dad back as his coach and running off a string of great results in ITF and Challenger events to close out last year. Up to #182 and will blow past that career high. Love the underdog stories.
 
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