MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian Open began at Melbourne Park on Sunday (Saturday night ET), a day earlier than usual. Stay up-to-date with a guide that tells you everything you need to know about how to watch the year’s first Grand Slam tennis tournament, what the schedule is, what the betting odds are, and more:
—In the U.S.: ESPN
—Other countries are listed here.
Melbourne's time zone is 16 hours ahead of the East Coast of the United States, so when Day 2 begins at 11 a.m. local time on Monday in Australia, it'll be 7 p.m. ET on Sunday. This is the first time the tournament is a 15-day event.
Here is the singles schedule in Australia:
—Sunday-Monday-Tuesday: First Round (Women and Men)
—Wednesday-Thursday: Second Round (Women and Men)
—Friday-Saturday: Third Round (Women and Men)
—Jan. 21-22: Fourth Round (Women and Men)
—Jan. 23-24: Quarterfinals (Women and Men)
—Jan. 25: Women’s Semifinals
—Jan. 26: Men’s Semifinals
—Jan. 27: Women’s Final
—Jan. 28: Men’s Final
Novak Djokovic is a minus-105 pick to win the men’s title, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, ahead of No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz at plus-360. Djokovic beat Daniil Medvedev in the U.S. Open final last September to clinch his 24th Grand Slam singles title. Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in the Wimbledon final last year to end the Serbian star’s chances of a calendar-year Grand Slam. Iga Swiatek is the top women’s choice at plus-220. She is followed by Aryna Sabalenka at plus-430, Elena Rybakina, last year’s Australian Open runner-up, at plus-480 and 2023 U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff at plus-500. A noteworthy line: Two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka is listed at plus-3,100 as she returns to Grand Slam action following the birth of her daughter, Shai, last July.
Women's singles: No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka beat Ella Seidel 6-0, 6-1; No. 8 Maria Sakkari beat Nao Hibino 6-4, 6-1; No. 9 Barbora Krejcikova beat Mai Hontama 2-6, 6-4, 6-3; Amanda Anisimova beat No. 13 Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 6-4; No. 32 Leylah Fernandez beat Sara Bejlek 7-6 (5), 6-2;
Men's singles: No. 1 Novak Djokovic beat Dino Prizmic 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4; No. 4 Jannik Sinner beat Botic Van de Zandschulp 6-4, 7-5, 6-3; No. 5 Andrey Rublev beat Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (6); No. 12 Taylor Fritz beat Facundo Diaz Acosta 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff will open play on Rod Laver Arena at 12 noon local time (8 p.m. Sunday ET) against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, who made her career-best run to the fourth round at last year's French Open. Gauff is seeded fourth and entering a Grand Slam tournament for the first time as a major winner. Stefanos Tsitsipas, who lost the final to Novak Djokovic here last year, will play Zizou Bergs, a lucky loser from qualifying, after his scheduled first-round opponent Matteo Berrettini withdrew Monday because of a right foot injury. Berrettini was a Wimbledon runner-up in 2021 and a semifinalist at Melbourne Park in 2022 but has struggled with injuries. In the night session starting 7 p.m. local time (3 a.m. ET) on the main show court, local hope Alex de Minaur, who reached the top 10 for the first time last week after a win over Djokovic, takes on past Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic and four-time major winner Naomi Osaka takes on No. 16 Caroline Garcia, a semifinalist at the 2022 U.S. Open. Osaka is playing in her first major since a first-round exit at the 2022 U.S. Open. The two-time Australian Open winner didn't play competitively last year and had her first child, daughter Shai, last July. Third-seeded Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 U.S. Open champion who lost back-to-back Australian Open finals in 2021 and ’22 and at Flushing Meadows last year, opens play on Margaret Court Arena at 12 noon local time (8 p.m. Sunday ET) against Terence Atmane, a Frenchman who is making his debut in the main draw of a major.
What to read heading into the Australian Open:
— Basic facts and figures about the tournament
— Rafael Nadal’s Australian Open withdrawal leaves plenty of questions about his future
— Now a mom, Naomi Osaka returns to tennis
— The pressure is off Coco Gauff
— A look at the draw in Melbourne
Try your hand at the AP's Australian Open quiz.
409 - 0 — The comparative number of Grand Slam main draw matches Djokovic and Prizmic took into their first-round encounter.
16 — Alina Korneeva and Brenda Fruhvirtova, both 16, recorded their first wins in a Grand Slam main draw. There were 11 teenagers who started in the women's singles competition. Mirra Andreeva, who is also 16, is playing Monday in the first round.
“He’s not missing as much. There were some grueling rallies, very physical game. Almost four hours for four sets. It felt at some point I was playing myself in a mirror already." — Djokovic.
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