Since Sinner retired injured against Tallon Griekspoor at last year’s Shanghai Masters, the Italian has conceded only one set in his next 16 matches. The 24-year-old is unbeaten in 18 showdowns against opponents at their home major, two-thirds of those in straight sets.
Ten-time champion Novak Djokovic is the only player to have bagged three straight Australian Opens in the Open era and on Thursday, he will bid for his eighth successive third-round appearance at Melbourne Park when he meets Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrelli for the first time.
The fourth seed could close to within one win of becoming the first player in the Open era to crack 400 victories at the majors, while his 141st-ranked opponent aims to become the lowest-ranked player to beat the Serbian at a Slam.
“Performance-wise, the feeling on the court, it was great,” Djokovic said after his first-round win over Pedro Martinez.
“I couldn’t ask for more. Obviously, a great serving performance. Just overall felt really good on the court that has made me feel good on it for so many times throughout my career.”
Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina has returned to form following troubled patches in the past two seasons, with victory in last year’s WTA Finals.
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On Thursday night, the Kazakhstani – a finalist at AO 2023 to Aryna Sabalenka – brings a 2-0 record into her second-round clash against France’s Varvara Gracheva.
The fifth seed has not fallen in the second round at Melbourne Park since 2024 when Anna Blinkova triumphed in an epic 20-18 third-set tiebreak, but has full faith in her chances if her serve is on.
“On the serve because no matter who is on the other side, if the serve is going, then it’s perfect,” she said. “Of course, little things on the serve. Maybe adjust. Be better in the first few shots of the rally, then we will see how it’s going to go.”
Sixth seed Jessica Pegula seeks her 17th Grand Slam singles third round on Thursday when she meets fellow American McCartney Kessler in the first match at Rod Laver Arena.
Only Iga Swiatek, Sabalenka and Elise Mertens have reached that stage more times in the past decade.
The US Open 2024 finalist claimed her only previous meeting with Kessler in last year’s Austin final, two months after Kessler picked up her first title in Hobart.