2024 Australian Open draw promises first round fireworks

Brace yourselves tennis fans, because the 2024 Australian Open draw is dishing up some mouth-watering first round clashes. Across both the men’s and women’s competitions, the opening days of the year’s first Grand Slam will see several block-busting matchups worthy of a final.

In the men’s draw, front and centre is the first round match between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini, as well as a tough tie for home hope Alex de Minaur, who comes up against former world number three Milos Raonic. 

For the women, all eyes were on where returning two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka would fall in the draw. The tennis gods did not disappoint, as the former number one will face Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia in a tantalising round one clash.  

Men’s Australian Open draw sees stacked first round match ups

Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas has fared well down under in recent years, twice making the final of the Australian Open. With his most recent run occurring last year where he fell to Novak Djokovic in the final, the world number seven has 1200 points to defend coming into Melbourne this January. 

Tsitsipas will need to have his wits about him if he’s to make a third deep run at the Australian Open, however, as his first-round opponent is no stranger to the big stage either. Italian Matteo Berrettini may have struggled with injuries over the past two years, but still possesses the weapons to devastate on hard courts when he’s fit and healthy.  

According to bet365, the Italian is the 18th favourite to win in Melbourne, with a return of 101.00. But don’t let that deceive you—just two years ago Berrettini made the Australian Open semi-finals, with the former number six making the final of Wimbledon the year before. 

As if this first round match wasn’t enough already, the Australian Open draw has produced several other early popcorn encounters. Alex de Minaur, who has recently cracked the top 10, takes on Milos Raonic, former world number three, former top 10 players Felix Auger-Alissime and Dominic Thiem also square off, while Holger Rune comes up against Yoshito Nishioka too. 

Sabalenka receives kind draw, but Rybakina isn’t so lucky 

In the women’s draw, there will be no shortage of early entertainment either. Aside from Osaka taking on Garcia in the first round, Elena Rybakina also has a challenging start to the 2024 Australian Open. 

The Kazakh, who is currently unbeaten this season thanks to a title in Brisbane last week, will open her campaign against former world number one Karolina Pliskova. Pliskova made the semi-finals of the Australian Open in 2019 and will be looking for her first win against Rybakina. Survive this match, and Rybakina still has one of the less favourable draws, with Jessica Pegula potentially waiting in the quarter-finals. 

Aryna Sabalenka will be counting her luck after seeing the 2024 Australian Open draw, with the defending champion avoiding any big unseeded names in the early rounds. After opening against a qualifier or lucky loser, the Belarusian has little to worry about until the quarter-finals, where she’ll likely need to get past two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur. 

At the other end of the draw, Aussie bookmakers’ favourite Iga Swiatek will have a challenging path. The world number one faces 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round, with the likes of Elina Svitolina lurking later on in the first week as well.

The 2024 Australian Open is due to get underway on Sunday 14th of January, with the tournament concluding on Sunday 28th January. Whether it’s fiery first round clashes or epic finals, one thing is certain: 15 days of jam-packed tennis action await in Melbourne.