Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka, the men’s and women’s singles defending champions, headline day four of the Australian Open after being scheduled together in the night session again.
This time Sabalenka will get to play first after Djokovic took four hours to complete his first round win on Sunday.
Second seed Sabalenka faces 16-year-old qualifier Brenda Fruhvirtova while Djokovic will take on Australian Alexei Popyrin.
Elsewhere, Coco Gauff will play fellow American Caroline Dolehide in a day match at Margaret Court Arena while Jannik Sinner, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Ons Jabeur and Caroline Wozniacki are also in action.
On Tuesday, Emma Raducanu made a convincing grand slam return with victory over Shelby Rogers in the first round. Jack Draper vomited into a courtside bin after overcoming struggles with the Melbourne heat to defeat Marcos Giron 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 after three hours and 20 minutes at the Australian Open in his first ever five-set match.
Katie Boulter defeated Yuan Yue for her first Australian Open victory in five years. The British No 1 has lost in qualifying in Melbourne the previous two years but earned a hard fought 7-5, 7-6 (1) victory over in-form Yuan.
Dan Evans won the first set against Lorenzo Sonego but the Italian hit back to win 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6. Cameron Norrie dispelled injury worries to ease into the second round with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas.
What is Wednesday’s order of play?
(All times GMT)
Rod Laver Arena
From 1am: (6) Ons Jabeur (Tun) v Mirra Andreeva (Rus), (10) Alex De Minaur (Aus) v Matteo Arnaldi (Ita)
From 8am: Brenda Fruhvirtova (Cze) v (2) Aryna Sabalenka (Blr), (1) Novak Djokovic (Ser) v Alexei Popyrin (Aus)
Margaret Court Arena
From 1am: Jannik Sinner (Ita) v Jesper De Jong (Ned), Caroline Dolehide (USA) v (4) Cori Gauff (USA)
From 8am: Jordan Thompson (Aus) v (7) Stefanos Tsitsipas (Gre), (8) Maria Sakkari (Gre) v Elina Avanesyan (Rus)
John Cain Arena
From 12am: Caroline Wozniacki (Den) v Maria Timofeeva (Rus), Laura Siegemund (Ger) v Storm Hunter (Aus), Christopher O’Connell (Aus) v (16) Ben Shelton (USA), Christopher Eubanks (USA) v (5) Andrey Rublev (Rus)
Kia Arena
From 12am: (32) Leylah Annie Fernandez (Can) v Alycia Parks (USA), (12) Taylor Harry Fritz (USA) v Hugo Gaston (Fra), (17) Frances Tiafoe (USA) v Tomas Machac (Cze), Marta Kostyuk (Ukr) v (25) Elise Mertens (Bel)
1573 Arena
From 12am: Daniel Elahi Galan (Col) v (26) Sebastian Baez (Arg), Alina Korneeva (Rus) v (10) Beatriz Haddad Maia (Bra), (16) Caroline Garcia (Fra) v Magdalena Frech (Pol), Daria Saville (Aus) & Ajla Tomljanovic (Aus) v Oksana Kalashnikova (Geo) & Maia Lumsden (Gbr)
Court 3
From 12am: Tamara Korpatsch (Ger) v (9) Barbora Krejcikova (Cze), Aleksandar Kovacevic (USA) v (15) Karen Khachanov (Rus), Gael Monfils (Fra) v (30) Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Arg), Francisco Cabral (Por) & Henry Patten (Gbr) v Tristan Schoolkate (Aus) & Adam Walton (Aus)
Court 5
From 12am: Linda Noskova (Cze) & Xiyu Wang (Chn) v Talia Gibson (Aus) & Priscilla Hon (Aus), (1) Ivan Dodig (Cro) & Austin Krajicek (USA) v Miomir Kecmanovic (Ser) & Denys Molchanov (Ukr), Varvara Gracheva (Fra) & Sabrina Santamaria (USA) v Kimberly Birrell (Aus) & Olivia Gadecki (Aus), (14) Wesley Koolhof (Ned) & Nikola Metkic (Cro) v Sadio Doumbia (Fra) & Fabien Reboul (Fra)
Court 6
From 12am: Pavel Kotov (Rus) v Flavio Cobolli (Ita), Paula Badosa Gibert (Spa) v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Rus), (29) Sebastian Korda (USA) v Quentin Halys (Fra), Alex Bolt (Aus) & Luke Saville (Aus) v Harri Heliovaara (Fin) & John Peers (Aus)
Court 7
From 12am: Amanda Anisimova (USA) v Nadia Podoroska (Arg), (25) Lorenzo Musetti (Ita) v Luca Van Assche (Fra), (28) Lesia Tsurenko (Ukr) v Rebeka Masarova (Spa), (4) Gabriela Dabrowski (Can) & Erin Routliffe (Nzl) v Linda Fruhvirtova (Cze) & Ashlyn Krueger (USA)
Court 8
From 12am: James McCabe (Aus) & Dane Sweeny (Aus) v (7) Hugo Nys (Mon) & Jan Zielinski (Pol), (20) Adrian Mannarino (Fra) v Jaume Munar (Spa), Marcelo Melo (Bra) & Matwe Middelkoop (Ned) v (3) Rajeev Ram (USA) & Joe Salisbury (Gbr), (12) Marie Bouzkova (Cze) & Sara Sorribes Tormo (Spa) v Cristina Bucsa (Spa) & Alexandra Panova (Rus)
Court 12
From 12am: (15) Ingrid Martins (Bra) & Monica Niculescu (Rom) v Sara Errani (Ita) & Jasmine Paolini (Ita), Elisabetta Cocciaretto (Ita) & Martina Trevisan (Ita) v Destanee Aiava (Aus) & Maddison Inglis (Aus), Anhelina Kalinina (Ukr) & Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (Svk) v Emma Navarro (USA) & Diana Shnaider (Rus), Ben McLachlan (Jpn) & Yoshihito Nishioka (Jpn) v Nikola Cacic (Ser) & Denys Molchanov (Ukr)
Court 13
From 12am: Kamilla Rakhimova (Rus) v Diane Parry (Fra), Fabian Marozsan (Hun) v (22) Francisco Cerundolo (Arg), (11) Lyudmyla Kichenok (Ukr) & Jelena Ostapenko (Lat) v Emina Bektas (USA) & Kayla Day (USA), Lucia Bronzetti (Ita) & Heather Watson (Gbr) v Yafan Wang (Chn) & Yue Yuan (Chn)
Court 14
From 12am: Jiri Lehecka (Cze) & Petr Nouza (Cze) v (12) Nathaniel Lammons (USA) & Jack Withrow (USA), (11) Lloyd Glasspool (Gbr) & Jean-Julien Rojer (Ned) v Tallon Griekspoor (Ned) & Bart Stevens (Ned), (5) Santiago Gonzalez (Mex) & Neal Skupski (Gbr) v MacKenzie McDonald (USA) & Botic Van de Zandschulp (Ned), Sorana Cirstea (Rom) & Donna Vekic (Cro) v (9) Demi Schuurs (Ned) & Luisa Stefani (Bra)
Court 17
From 12am: (4) Marcel Granollers (Spa) & Horacio Zeballos (Arg) v Evan King (USA) & Reese Stalder (USA), Anastasia Zakharova (Rus) v Kaja Juvan (Slo), Marcos Giron (USA) & Soon Woo Kwon (Kor) v (8) Kevin Krawietz (Ger) & Tim Puetz (Ger), Erika Andreeva (Rus) & Viktoriya Tomova (Bul) v Anna Blinkova (Rus) & Aliaksandra Sasnovich (Blr)
When do the Australian Open finals take place?
The women’s final is on Saturday, January 27. The men’s final is on the following day: January 28.
How to watch the Australian Open on TV in the UK
In the UK, Eurosport has the broadcasting rights to live action from Melbourne and will be showing 260 hours of tennis. To watch on Discovery+, an Entertainment & Sport pass is £6.99/month or £59.99/year.
This year, Nick Kyrgios will be part of Eurosport’s English-language commentary team, and will be one of the highlights of a camera stream direct from the commentary booth. Kyrgios will be joined in Australia by presenters John McEnroe, Barbara Schett and Laura Robson, and from a London studio by new host Rachel Stringer.
How to watch the Australian Open on TV in the US
ESPN has the broadcasting rights to show the tournament.
Who are the defending champions?
Last year, Novak Djokovic claimed the men’s singles title for a record-extending 10th time after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Aryna Sabalenka claimed her first grand slam singles title in the women’s draw when she defeated Elena Rybakina in three sets.
Latest odds
To win the men’s title
- Novak Djokovic 11/10
- Carlos Alcaraz 7/2
- Jannik Sinner 11/2
- Daniil Medvedev 9/1
- Alexander Zverev 25/1
To win the women’s title
- Iga Swiatek 2/1
- Aryna Sabalenka 15/4
- Elena Rybakina 9/2
- Coco Gauff 5/1
- Jessica Pegula 18/1
Which British players are involved?
In the men’s draw, Andy Murray and Dan Evans lost in the opening round. Cameron Norrie and Jack Draper have advanced into the second round.
Among the women, Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter are through to round two. Jodie Burrage has been knocked out.
When did the Australian Open start?
The tournament got under way on Sunday, January 14. It was the first Sunday start in the tournament’s history.
“We’ve listened to feedback from the players and fans and are excited to deliver a solution to minimise late finishes while continuing to provide a fair and equitable schedule on the stadium courts,” Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said.
“The additional day will achieve this, benefiting scheduling for fans and players alike. The first round will now be played over three days instead of two, also giving fans an extra day of unbelievable tennis, entertainment, food and family fun.”
What is the Australian Open prize money?
This year’s Australian Open total prize money is a record 13 per cent increase on 2023 – £46.3 million will be shared by the field with the winners each taking home £1.68 million.
“We’ve upped prize money for every round at the Australian Open with the major increases in qualifying and the early rounds of singles and doubles,” Tiley said. “We want to ensure Australia remains the launchpad for the global tennis season and the players and their teams have everything they need to help them perform at their best and continue to enjoy the happy slam.”