2026 Australian Open men’s draw: Novak Djokovic lands in Jannik Sinner bottom half, Carlos Alcaraz on top

The 2026 Australian Open men’s draw was revealed on Thursday and all eyes were on which half of the draw 10-time champion Novak Djokovic would land. When the dust settled, the No. 4 seed appeared in the third quarter, making him a projected semifinal opponent for defending champion Jannik Sinner.

Sinner is looking to win a third straight Australian Open title, having won his first major title Down Under back in 2024. Seeded just behind world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, the Italian will open against France’s Hugo Gaston, with Brazilian youngster Joao Fonseca serving as his first projected seeded opposition in the third round. American Ben Shelton is seeded to face Sinner in the last eight.

Djokovic will open against Spaniard Pedro Martinez, and could face No. 27-seeded American Brandon Nakashima in the third round. No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz and No. 16 seed Jakub Mensik—who beat Djokovic at last year’s Miami Open final—also feature in Djokovic’s quarter.

The Carlos Alcaraz quarter will nonetheless draw plenty of attention from Australian fans as No. 6 seed Alex de Minaur is slated to possibly play the world No. 1, who is aiming to complete a Career Slam in Melbourne, in the quarterfinals. In fact, Alcaraz will be the underdog with Aussie fans from the first round, the reigning Roland Garros and US Open champion opening against hometown favorite Adam Walton.

The second quarter features a projected quarterfinal head-to-head between No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev and No. 7 seed Félix Auger-Aliassime. Zverev’s early rounds could be tricky as the German will play his first round against FAA’s countryman Gabriel Diallo, with Australia’s Alexei Popyrin a potential second-round foe.

Auger-Aliassime will aim to continue his late-2025 momentum on hard courts against Nuno Borges. American Learner Tien made his major breakthrough at this very tournament, and returns Down Under as the No. 25 seed—and as FAA’s projected third-round opponent.