Wait a second. Are we really about to watch third-round matches at 2026’s first major? Where does the time go? While most of the US will be blanketed in blizzard, we’ll be huddled up and taking in enticing matchups in the top half of the men’s and women’s singles draw.
Here’s what’s on tap:
Tiafoe Relishing Spoiler Role
Frances Tiafoe is doing his best to turn the page on a difficult 2025. He’s got a new team, a new outlook on life and – he’s hoping – he’ll have a new signature win after his battle with top-ranked Aussie Alex de Minaur.
De Minaur will have the crowd on his side, and he holds the 3-1 lifetime edge in the pair’s head-to-head, including a three-set win over Tiafoe in Canada last year.
But this is the type of matchup that Tiafoe craves. The biggest stage, the hype, the madness. Expect the American to come out with fire and a chip on his shoulder. And De Minaur, we know he always brings the fire. It’s what has defined his career, and it’s the biggest reason that the indefatigable Aussie has become a perennial Top-10 talent.
Three Teens and a Dream
Victoria Mboko (19), Iva Jovic (18) and Mirra Andreeva (18) are the three highest-ranked teenagers in the sport. So, fitting that they are all making a splash at this year’s Australian Open.
And they’ll all be in action on Day 6, with Mboko, making her Aussie Open debut, facing Dane Clara Tauson in a popcorn matchup, while Jovic takes on seventh-seeded Jasmine Paolini and No.8-seeded Andreeva faces Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
Keeping with the theme of surging youth, Coco Gauff (21) is also in this section and she’ll take on Hailey Baptiste (24) for a spot in week two.
Tien and Medvedev on Course
Will we see a rematch of last year’s second-round battle between Learner Tien and Daniil Medvedev in Melbourne? A win from each on Day 6, and the answer will be yes, in the round of 16. Rejuvanated Medvedev (seeded No.11) who snapped a the four-match losing streak at the majors (that Tien started last year) in round one, faces powerful Fabian Marozsan in the third round, while Tien, seeded 25th, takes on Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
Medvedev has had high praise for Tien’s blossoming game in the past, but he’ll likely cherish a chance to take another crack at the 20-year-old American. The Russian is already 7-0 this season, after winning the title in Brisbane in the first week of the year.
Sabalenka the Hard-Court Wizard
Aryna Sabalenka will face Anastasia Potapova on Day 6, as the world No.1 looks to continue her hard-court major dominance. Sabalenka has won four of the last six hard-court Grand Slams, and reached the final of the other two.
