World no. 1 Jannik Sinner will try to break new ground and become a defending Major champion in Melbourne. The 23-year-old conquered men's tennis by storm in 2024, and it all started at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
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Jannik will try to mirror that success in the next couple of weeks, setting his eyes on the third Major title. With 128 players seeking one trophy, the draw always carries a massive importance at Majors! Did Sinner enjoyhis? No doubt!
The Italian could have faced the ten-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic in the quarter-final. He could have battled against the four-time Major winner Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final and make things even more challenging.Still, none of that will happen!
The draw treated Jannik marvelously, sending Djokovic and Alcaraz to the bottom half of the draw and giving Alexander Zverev a headache! Thus, world no. 1 will not face Zverev, Alcaraz or Djokovic before the final, a perfect scenario in his title defense hopes!
Jannik will kick off the Australian Open campaign against Nicolas Jarry. While it could be a tricky duel at the start of the season, Sinner should be the favorite. Schoolkate or Daniel await in the second round, and it should be an easy day at the office for the defending champion,
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Marcos Giron, Yannick Hanfmann, Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Flavio Cobolli will battle for a place in the third round. Realistically, Jannik should beat any of them without issues and move into the second week without spending too much energy.
The fourth round couldset a potential duel against a challenging rival. The Italian could face Hubert Hurkacz, Matteo Berrettini or Holger Rune in his first real test of the tournament. If Sinner passes all those rivals, he must provide his A-game from the quarter-final stage!
While missing the main opponents, world no. 1 could meetthe home favorite, Alex de Minaur, in the quarter-final! An in-form Aussie will seek his first quarter-final at the home Major and should find an extra boost if he faces the world's best player at Rod Laver Arena!
Things are only getting more challengingfor world no. 1 from that stage, which is perfectly normal. Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev are potential opponents in the semi-final. Taylor and Jannik battled in last year's US Open final.
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The Italian beat the Russian in the Melbourne final 12 months ago after a thriller. Will they give everything to topple Sinner and serve revenge? No doubt!
If Jannik survives that challenge and reaches his third straight hard-court Major final, he will likely face Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev, the favorites in the bottom half.
Jannik's draw looks good, but he will have to present his best tennis from the quarter-final stage if he wants to defend the title and write more pages of tennis history. Will it happen? We will find out in two weeks.
