Alex de Minaur gets Carlos Alcaraz slayer, Nick Kyrgios meets rising British talent - Australian Open draw

Contributor
Kieran Francis
Alex de Minaur gets Carlos Alcaraz slayer, Nick Kyrgios meets rising British talent - Australian Open draw image

Australian no.1 Alex de Minaur has a difficult first-round match against a veteran who knocked Carlos Alcaraz out of the US Open, while Nick Kyrgios meets an up-and-coming British player.

De Minaur will face experienced Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in his opening round match, a player who defeated Alcaraz in straight sets at Flushing Meadows last year.

Unseeded Kyrgios has been given a kind opening match against 86th ranked Brit player Jacob Fearnley, who made the second round of Wimbledon on his major debut in 2024.

Australia's other two seeded men - Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson - were also given kind draws on their debut as seeds at grand slam tournaments.

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Popyrin has been drawn against France's Corentin Moutet, while Thompson faces a yet-to-be-determined qualifier.

World no.1 Jannik Sinner has a tricky match first-up in his Australian Open title defence against Nicolas Jarry, who was ranked no.16 in May 2024.

Wimbledon 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini also looms as a dangerous floater in Sinner's quarter of the draw.

Ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic opens his campaign against US talent Nishesh Basavareddy - a recent competitor at the ATP Next Gen finals.

It will be a tricky first-up match for Carlos Alcaraz also, taking on powerful Kazahk hitter Alexander Shevchenko.