Where will Sinner, Alcaraz, & Djokovic land? Australian Open men’s singles draw questions
The Australian Open kicks off this Sunday, and we are just two days away from finding out what paths the leading contenders may have to take to lift the title.
Ahead of Thursday’s big reveal, we analyse some of the key talking points for the impending men’s singles draw.
Will Sinner and Alcaraz be in the same half?
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are the two favourites for the Australian Open title – but the possibility of a first Grand Slam final between the two could be discounted from the outset.
With Alcaraz seeded third, there is a 50/50 possibility that the Spaniard will be drawn in the same half as Sinner, the top seed and the reigning champion.
The pair were already in the same half of the draw in the last three majors, though only met at Roland Garros – where Alcaraz prevailed in a five-set semi-final.
Should Alcaraz be drawn into the top half with Sinner, it could leave the bottom half of the draw – led by second seed Alexander Zverev – comparatively wide open.
Does Zverev want to avoid Fritz?
As strange as it sounds, Zverev may prefer having Alcaraz in his half rather than fourth seed Taylor Fritz.
The German, searching for his first Grand Slam singles title, beat Alcaraz at the Australian Open last year and holds an impressive 6-5 head-to-head record against the four-time major champion.
However, the world No 2 trails Fritz 7-5 in their head-to-head, with the American having prevailed in their four most recent meetings.
Those wins include Grand Slam victories at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2024, and Zverev may be keen to see Fritz as far away from him in the bracket as possible.
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Where will Djokovic land?
After a challenging 2024, 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic is the seventh seed in Melbourne – and finds himself at the mercy of the draw gods.
As a seed in the 5-8 bracket, the Serbian will automatically be drawn into the same quarter and likely face a quarter-final clash against one of Sinner, Zverev, Alcaraz, or Fritz.
Djokovic’s ideal draw would see him land in Fritz’s quarter, with the Serbian holding an unblemished 10-0 record against the US No 1.
However, being drawn against one of Sinner, Zverev, or Alcaraz will make life much tougher for the 37-year-old.
Potentially, he, Sinner, and Alcaraz could all be in the same half.
How will home hopes fare?
Three Australian men are seeded in the singles draw: eighth seed Alex de Minaur, 25th seed Alexei Popyrin, and 27th seed Jordan Thompson.
De Minaur leads home hopes and the world No 8 has seen the ATP Rankings fall in his favour, pushing above Andrey Rublev this week to seal a top-eight seeding.
A potential quarter-final against one of the top four is an unenviable challenge, but he is guaranteed to be the higher-ranked player in any match-up before then – and likely the favourite to reach the last eight.
However, Popyrin and Thompson face a much tougher challenge.
Both men are ranked just outside of the top 24, meaning they will be drawn against one of the top eight seeds as early as the third round.
That could mean a meeting against Sinner, Alcaraz, or Djokovic – who Popyrin beat at the US Open – though could also mean an all-Aussie clash versus de Minaur.
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