Four of the top 10 seeds in the men’s draw will make their debut at the Australian Open on Tuesday, Jan. 20. Each of these world top 10 players should win their opener, though some matches will be more difficult than others.
Australian Open Day 3 Preview
Sinner Looks to Three-peat
World No. 2 and global megastar Jannik Sinner starts his march toward what he hopes will be his third consecutive Australian Open title by facing Frenchman Hugo Gaston. Ranked No. 94 in the world and making his 5th Australian Open main draw appearance, the left-handed Gaston should be no match for Sinner.
Tough Test for Shelton
The toughest first-round draw for the top 10 players slated to play Tuesday fell on No. 8 seed Ben Shelton. The American left-hander drew veteran and currently hot Ugo Humbert of France in his opener.
Humbert, who lost the final of the ATP 250 Adelaide International to Tomas Machac last week, is both playing well and will not be intimidated. The Frenchman has experience and success at this level; he advanced to the Round of 16 in last year’s Australian Open. He also reached the round of 32 in both 2023 and 2024.
Shelton comes to Melbourne after going 1-1 in the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, last week. The American fell to world No. 36 Sebastian Baez in the quarter-finals; Baez’s No. 36 ranking is quite close to Humbert’s No. 33 slot. Despite his stellar No. 8 ranking, Shelton may have his hands full as he begins his 2026 Grand Slam journey.
Newbies Hit the Big Time
In more traditional first-round Grand Slam match-ups, Valentin Royer and Raphael Collignon, both under 25 years old, will make their Australian Open main draw debuts on Tuesday. Collignon takes on No. 5 seed Lorenzo Musetti while Royer tangles with No. 9, American Taylor Fritz.
Both Fritz and Musetti reached a Grand Slam semifinal in 2025 and should expect to build on their success in the opening Grand Slam of 2026. Australian Open rookies Royer and Collignon will need to be at the very top of their games to have any chance against Musetti and Fritz.
Fun Closing to Round 1
With Grand Slams moving toward scheduling first rounds over three days, top players are spread out over more time. Still, scheduling four of the top 10 men on Tuesday creates a great finale to the three-day first round. For some big names, it is time to play.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke – Imagn Images
