TENNIS: Sinner to meet Gaston in Australian Open first round, Sabalenka to play French wildcard

MELBOURNE – Defending champion Jannik Sinner will face French world number 94 Hugo Gaston in the first round of the Australian Open as he chases a third consecutive title at Melbourne Park. On the women’s side, top seed Aryna Sabalenka takes on French wildcard Tiantsoa Rakotomanga.

Men’s top seed Carlos Alcaraz will play 79th-ranked Australian Adam Walton in his bid for a first Australian Open crown and to become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam.

At Thursday’s draw ceremony at Melbourne Park, 10-time champion Novak Djokovic, seeded fourth, was paired with 71st-ranked Spaniard Pedro Martinez for the opening round of the Grand Slam, which begins Sunday. Djokovic, aiming for a record 25th Grand Slam title to surpass Margaret Court, could face rising Italian Lorenzo Musetti, the fifth seed, in the quarter-finals, with a potential semi-final showdown against Sinner.

Italian Sinner has a relatively smooth first week, but fans hope for a third-round clash with 28th-seeded Brazilian Joao Fonseca if the 19-year-old stays fit after recent back issues.

“The draw is very difficult, it doesn’t matter who you play,” Sinner said at the ceremony. “We are the best players in the world and the way is very, very long.”

Alcaraz, meanwhile, could face home favorite Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals, but the Australian sixth seed must first overcome Italian Matteo Berrettini, the 2021 Wimbledon runner-up.

Twice champion Sabalenka faces few early threats in her section of the draw, with a potential semi-final against third seed Coco Gauff looming. Gauff will start her campaign against 55th-ranked Uzbek Kamilla Rakhimova.

Women’s second seed Iga Swiatek opens against a qualifier, with a possible quarter-final against resurgent Kazakh Elena Rybakina on the horizon. Rybakina, the fifth seed and former Wimbledon champion, is coming off her maiden WTA Finals victory in November and meets unseeded Slovene Kaja Juvan in the first round.

Defending women’s champion Madison Keys will face unseeded Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova. The American ninth seed faces a tough path, potentially meeting sixth-seeded compatriot Jessica Pegula in the fourth round and fourth seed Amanda Anisimova in the quarter-finals.

In men’s news, home favorite Thanasi Kokkinakis withdrew from the Australian Open after suffering a shoulder injury at the Adelaide International, ending his hopes of competing with a protected ranking.

-Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman/Reuters