Thursday’s action at the 2026 Australian Open again did not deliver any major upsets on the men’s side, but the biggest stars of the day were the veterans. Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic each produced some of their top tennis to push into the third round, while top seeds like Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, and Lorenzo Musetti all cruised. LWOT breaks down some of the tennis in Melbourne Park.
Australian Open Day 5 Men’s Recap
Who Looked Good
No Top 10 seeds dropped a set on Thursday, meaning that nine of the 10 top seeds remain in the third round. By the start of the third round of last year’s Australian Open, four seeds had crashed out of the tournament. World No. 2 Jannik Sinner was arguably the most impressive of the top players, winning 6-1 6-4 6-2 and only facing three break points against Aussie James Duckworth. Novak Djokovic cruised in straight sets during his Rod Laver Arena day session match.
Meanwhile, Ben Shelton, defending semifinalist points and facing an important season, cruised 6-3 6-2 6-2 over another Aussie, Dane Sweeny. Lorenzo Musetti was the fourth Top 8 seed to cruise into the third round, defeating Lorenzo Sonego.
The top seeds have been so dominant thus far on the big show courts, that after five days of tennis, only two of the 10 men’s matches in Rod Laver Arena were not completed in straight sets–each featured Top 10 players winning.
Unseeded players displayed some vintage tennis on Thursday. Marin Cilic, reached the third round of the Australian Open for the first time since 2022, crushing seeded player Denis Shapovalov in straight sets. Cilic, in his opening round match, had before produced a rare double bagel in eventually a 6-0 6-0 7-6 (3) win. Cilic’s most recent Grand Slam final appearance was at the 2018 Australian Open.
And then there was Stan Wawrinka, who at 40 years old, won the longest match of the tournament in a five-set lung-buster against Arthur Gea. More details on that match below.
Who Looked Bad
After Stefanos Tsitsipas lost to Tomas Machac in a four-set tussle, it means that the Greek has now gone seven Grand Slams in a row without reaching the third round. Tsitsipas had to call the physio during the match, as he faced untimely injuries throughout the previous 2025 season.
Machac, who produced clutch tennis in consecutive tiebreaks, will now go up against his third one-handed backhand foe by facing Musetti. The player whose fate came at the hands of Musetti, Sonego, did not play his best against a friendly rival and doubles partner. Sonego’s ranking will drop out at least 20 spots to around the No. 60 mark.
It was a rough day for Hubert Hurkacz, who played fantastic tennis at the United Cup earlier in January. The Pole could only hit nine aces off his usually-powerful serve, as Hurkacz lost 6-4 7-6 (5) 6-1 to a strong Ethan Quinn.
Match of the Day
Wawrinka’s gotten a lot of spotlight at this year’s Australian Open due to it being his last. Yet, the Swiss is playing his best tennis at this tournament in six years, when he made the quarterfinals in 2020. His win over Gea was certainly the match of the day, with Wawrinka hitting 63 winners in a match easily surpassing the four-hour mark.
OUT OF THIS W😱RLD@stanwawrinka with another backhand BEAUTY to send the match into a 5th set! 🍿@wwos • @espn • @tntsports • @wowowtennis • #AO26 pic.twitter.com/67ckcAGG0N
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 22, 2026
The Frenchman won the majority of points lasting over nine shots, and he was the better player when making his first serves. The crowd, however, was a huge factor late in the match. Gea had three break point opprtunities to lead in the fifth set, but a pro-Wawrinka fanbase perhaps rattled the younger player. Wawrinka hit four winners in his 10-3 final-set tiebreak win.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
