Aussie hopes handed difficult draws at Australian Open 2024
Find out who our Aussie contenders face in the opening round of the Australian Open 2024 men's and women's singles competitions.
Melbourne, Australia, 11 January 2024 | Leigh Rogers
The Australian Open 2024 men’s and women’s singles draws are set.
Alex de Minaur leads a strong Aussie contingent in the men’s singles competition.
The 24-year-old, who this week became the first Australian man to hold a top-10 ranking in 17 years, begins his Australian Open campaign against former world No.3 Milos Raonic.
The big-serving Canadian is returning from an extended injury lay-off and used a protected ranking to enter.
Eight Australian men received direct acceptance into the draw, which is a 25-year high. With the addition of five wildcards, this boosts the total number of local competitors to 13 (equalling the most since 1999).
There are two all-Australian match-ups in the opening round, including a showdown between world No.47 Jordan Thompson and world No.63 Aleksandar Vukic.
The Sydneysiders also faced-off at the Brisbane International earlier this month.
| Australian Open 2024 Men’s singles, first round |
||||
| Player | Rank | Player | Rank | |
| [10] Alex de Minaur (AUS) | 10 | v | Milos Raonic (CAN) | 317 |
| Alexei Popyrin (AUS) | 43 | v | [WC] Marc Polmans (AUS) | 156 |
| Max Purcell (AUS) | 45 | v | [Q] Mate Valkusz (HUN) | 214 |
| Jordan Thompson (AUS) | 47 | v | Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) | 63 |
| Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) | 68 | v | Sebastian Ofner (AUT) | 37 |
| Rinky Hijikata (AUS) | 70 | v | [24] Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) | 24 |
| Chris O’Connell (AUS) | 71 | v | Cristian Garin (CHI) | 88 |
| [WC] James Duckworth (AUS) | 96 | v | Luca Van Assche (FRA) | 87 |
| [WC] Jason Kubler (AUS) | 112 | v | Daniel Elahi Galan (COL) | 89 |
| [WC] Adam Walton (AUS) | 176 | v | Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) | 41 |
| [Q] Dane Sweeny (AUS) | 257 | v | [22] Francisco Cerundolo (ARG) | 22 |
| [WC] James McCabe (AUS) | 278 | v | Alex Michelsen (USA) | 92 |
| [Q] Omar Jasika (AUS) | 341 | v | [9] Hubert Hurkacz (POL) | 9 |
> VIEW: Australian Open 2024 men’s singles draw
Australian women have been dealt tough draws too, with four players pitted against top-50 opponents in the opening round.
Kimberly Birrell and Olivia Gadecki begin their respective campaigns against Grand Slam champions.
The 25-year-old Birrell faces world No.12 Jelena Ostapenko, the Roland Garros 2017 winner, while 21-year-old Gadecki meets US Open 2017 champion Sloane Stephens.
Taylah Preston, a promising 18-year-old, will make her Grand Slam main-draw debut against 19th seed Elina Svitolina.
| Australian Open 2024 Women’s singles, first round |
||||
| Player | Rank | Player | Rank | |
| [WC] Kimberly Birrell (AUS) | 113 | v | [11] Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) | 12 |
| [WC] Olivia Gadecki (AUS) | 126 | v | Sloane Stephens (USA) | 43 |
| [WC] Daria Saville (AUS) | 175 | v | Magdalena Frech (POL) | 72 |
| [Q] Storm Hunter (AUS) | 179 | v | Sara Errani (ITA) | 101 |
| [WC] Taylah Preston (AUS) | 206 | v | [19] Elina Svitolina (UKR) | 23 |
| Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) | 546 | v | Petra Martic (CRO) | 40 |
> VIEW: Australian Open 2024 women’s singles draw
Main-draw action at Australian Open begins on 14 January – the first Sunday start in the tournament’s history.
> BUY NOW: Australian Open 2024 tickets
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