{"id":242296,"date":"2026-01-17T02:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T02:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/242296\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T02:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T02:10:10","slug":"carlos-alcaraz-jannik-sinner-novak-djokovic-feature-in-10-things-to-watch-at-the-australian-open-atp-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/242296\/","title":{"rendered":"Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic feature in 10 things to watch at the Australian Open | ATP Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

ATP Tour
\n Alcaraz, Sinner, Djokovic feature in 10 things to watch at the Australian Open<\/p>\n

An executive summary of what every fan should know about the hard-court major<\/p>\n

January 17, 2026<\/p>\n

\"Carlos<\/p>\n

Corinne Dubreuil\/ATP Tour<\/p>\n

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic will all compete at the 2026 Australian Open.
\n By ATP Staff<\/p>\n

There is no shortage of compelling narratives at this year\u2019s Australian Open<\/a>, where Carlos Alcaraz<\/a>, Jannik Sinner<\/a> and Novak Djokovic<\/a> all arrive with history firmly in their sights.<\/p>\n

Alcaraz, the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, is bidding for a maiden crown at the hard-court major \u2014 a triumph with which he would complete the Career Grand Slam. Two-time defending champion Sinner and record 10-time winner Djokovic stand among a deep field of contenders eager to halt the Spaniard\u2019s charge.<\/p>\n

ATPTour.com highlights 10 storylines to follow at the 2026 Australian Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cATP\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

1) Alcaraz chases Career Grand Slam: Alcaraz has yet to progress beyond the quarter-finals in four previous appearances at the Australian Open<\/a>, but he has made no secret of his ambition to lift the title in Melbourne. Should he triumph, the World No. 1 will become just the sixth man in the Open Era<\/a> to win at least one major title at all four Grand Slam tournaments.<\/p>\n

2) Can Sinner complete hat-trick? The two-time defending champion is attempting to join Djokovic as the only man in the Open Era to win three straight Australian Open<\/a> titles. Sinner owns a 22-4 record at the event, according to the Infosys ATP Win\/Loss Index, with his most recent loss coming against Stefanos Tsitsipas<\/a> in the fourth round in 2023.<\/p>\n

3) Djokovic returns to stomping ground:
\n After being forced to retire injured from his semi-final against Alexander Zverev<\/a> last year, Djokovic is back at his most successful major with renewed motivation. The 38-year-old claimed his 101st tour-level title in Athens in November and is chasing a 25th Grand Slam trophy, which would move him clear of Margaret Court on the all-time list.<\/p>\n

4) Zverev pushes on in bid for maiden Slam:
\nA three-time major finalist, Zverev continues to feature prominently in the latter stages of the biggest tournaments, but the elusive breakthrough remains. The German, runner-up to Sinner last year, begins his campaign against powerful Canadian Gabriel Diallo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

5) Resurgent Medvedev:
\n Following a strong close to the 2025 season and a title run in Brisbane to open 2026, Daniil Medvedev<\/a> appears revitalised after managing just one major match win last year. A former World No. 1 and three-time Melbourne finalist, Medvedev could meet longtime rival Zverev in the quarter-finals. He leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 14-8.<\/p>\n

6) Aussie hopes on home soil:
\nAt a career-high No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Alex de Minaur<\/a> spearheads the local charge. The 26-year-old, a competitor at the past two Nitto ATP Finals<\/a>, is joined in the main draw by fellow Australians Alexei Popyrin<\/a>, Adam Walton<\/a> \u2014 who opens against Alcaraz \u2014 and James Duckworth<\/a>, while Jason Kubler<\/a> advanced through qualifying.<\/p>\n

7) #NextGen talents take centre stage:
\nRecent Next Gen ATP Finals champions Learner Tien<\/a> and Joao Fonseca<\/a> return as the 25th and 28th seeds, respectively. Tien stunned Medvedev en route to the fourth round last year, while Fonseca claimed a notable win over Andrey Rublev<\/a>. They are joined by 2025 Jeddah competitors Nicolai Budkov Kjaer<\/a>, Rafael Jodar<\/a>, Nishesh Basavareddy<\/a> and Dino Prizmic<\/a>, as well as 19-year-old Rei Sakamoto<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You May Also Like: Tien turns promise into proof in Jeddah: ‘I pulled it off’<\/a><\/p>\n

8) Wawrinka headlines wild cards:
\nStan Wawrinka<\/a>, who plans to retire at the end of the 2026 season, captured the first of his three major titles in Melbourne in 2014 and returns this year as a wild card. Australian Jordan Thompson<\/a> also enters via wild card, having not played a tour-level match since October in Shanghai.<\/p>\n

9) First-round popcorn clashes:
\nDe Minaur faces an immediate challenge against former Wimbledon<\/a> finalist Matteo Berrettini<\/a>. World No. 8 Ben Shelton<\/a>, a semi-finalist last year, opens against Adelaide finalist Ugo Humbert<\/a>, while Grigor Dimitrov<\/a> versus Tomas Machac<\/a> adds to a trio of must-watch opening-round encounters.<\/p>\n

10) Kokkinakis\/Kyrgios feature in doubles:
\nJulian Cash<\/a> and Lloyd Glasspool<\/a> arrive as the top seeds after finishing 2025 by claiming Year-End ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by PIF honours. The doubles field also includes 2022 Australian Open<\/a> champions Thanasi Kokkinakis<\/a> and Nick Kyrgios<\/a>, adding further intrigue to the competition.<\/p>\n

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