Day 3 of the Australian Open. Let the title defenses begin! Sinner, Keys and a bevy of other high-profile first-rounders will take us to the end of the first round in Melbourne – read on to find out what we’ll be watching…
Here’s what we’ll be keeping tabs on.
SEE THE FULL DAY 3 ORDER OF PLAY HERE
Defenders Alight
Madison Keys begins her Aussie Open title defense with an early start on Rod Laver Arena. The ninth-seeded American, who ended Aryna Sabalenka’s bid for a three-peat in last year’s dramatic women’s singles final, will take on Oleksandra OIiynykova of Ukraine, a 25-year-old with a ranking of 25.
Keys is giddy to be returning to the scene of the crime, the place where she notched cliff-hanging wins over Iga Swiatek and Sabalenka in the semifinals and finals to become a Grand Slam champion for the first time.
“It’s really just incredible to walk around. It’s really just so kind of a pinch-me moment where you dream of being a Grand Slam champion when you’re a little girl, then being able to come back,” she said. “There’s a really cool photo of me holding the trophy. Getting to see those, it’s something you dream of in your career. Then being able to experience it is really fun.”
In the night session, two-time champion Jannik Sinner, a winner of his last 14 Australian Open matches, begins his bid for a three-peat against Hugo Gaston. Sinner, seeded second, has won 27 of his last 28 hard court Grand Slam matches.
Ubiquitous Men’s Popcorn
We’re excited to see a pair of men’s singles matches that feature fan favorites. Hubert Hurkacz, who fired 95 aces in five matches at United Cup a week ago, will face Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, who recorded a pair of Top-20 wins at the same event.
Grigor Dimitrov will go against Tomas Machac, the man who just powered to the Adelaide title with a gritty victory over Ugo Humbert. While we’re talking about popcorn, let’s not sleep on Ben Shelton vs Ugo Humbert, second up on Rod Laver, either.
Gael’s Last AO
Over on Kia Arena, 38-year-old Gael Monfils will take on Aussie qualifier Dane Sweeny as Monfils hopes to prolong his final stay at the Happy Slam in what will be his last season on tour.
Two-time quarterfinalist Monfils has 37 Australian Open wins and countless memories to his name. 182-ranked Sweeny is making his second main draw appearance down under.
Kasatkina – Aussie Aussie Aussie
Now an official Australian Citizen, Daria Kasatkina will play her first Grand Slam match under the Aussie flag against qualifier Nikola Bartunkova on ANZ Arena. Should be a festive atmosphere.
Will she be feeling the pressure?
“This is a good pressure, so I would choose this one compared to what I have been through in the past couple of years,” said Kasatkina. “So… let’s call it a fun pressure, I don’t know.
“Also for the first time I’m gonna play in front of such a big home crowd, so that’s gonna be special. Definitely have to manage my nerves, because it’s gonna be — I mean, never been in this situation before.”
