Novak Djokovic’s full path to Australian Open title as Serb primed for Jannik Sinner clash | Tennis | Sport

Novak Djokovic will start his 2026 season at the Australian Open, where he bids to win a record 25th Grand Slam title, and his 11th at Melbourne Park. The world No. 4 has not played since he lifted the trophy at the Hellenic Championship in Athens last year, and sparked some concern when he withdrew from this week’s Adelaide International, admitting he was “not quite physically ready to compete”.

There were further fears over Djokovic’s fitness going into the first Grand Slam tournament of the year when he ended a practice session at Melbourne Park after just 12 minutes. And the 38-year-old has now learned his fate in the draw, where he will likely have to go through Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz if he wants to get his hands on another Major trophy.

Last year, Djokovic reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments. In Australia, he retired injured against Alexander Zverev. At the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open, he was stopped by either Sinner or Alcaraz.

And Djokovic is on another collision course with two-time reigning Australian Open champion Sinner, as they have been drawn in the same half. Djokovic is the No. 4 seed, and Sinner is the No. 2 seed, and they would meet in the semi-finals. Alcaraz is a potential opponent in the final.

Djokovic will open his campaign in Melbourne against Spanish ace Pedro Martinez, who was ranked inside the world’s top 40 less than a year ago, but has fallen to No. 71 in the rankings. Martinez is full of confidence coming into the Australian Open.

He started the year by winning the Bengaluru Challenger, and then made it to the semi-finals of the 1 Point Slam at the Australian Open, taking out Elena Rybakina, Alexander Bublik, and Iga Swiatek.

Djokovic would face either Terence Atmane, or a qualifier or lucky loser in the second round. No. 27 seed Brandon Nakashima is a likely third round opponent, while Lorenzo Musetti, Taylor Fritz, Jakub Mensik, and Stefanos Tsitsipas are also in his quarter of the draw.

There are still some concerns over Djokovic’s fitness going into his first tournament of 2026. The 38-year-old had a hit with Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday, losing their practice set 7-5, and returned later in the day for a second training session. But he cut things short after appearing to struggle with a neck issue.

Djokovic will be back out on Rod Laver Arena on Thursday for an exhibition match against Frances Tiafoe, his first match of any kind in 68 days.

Express Sport breaks down Djokovic’s full projected Australian Open draw below, based on seedings.

2R: Terance Atmane / Q/LL

3R: Brandon Nakashims [27] / Botic van de Zandschulp / Juncheng Shang / Roberto Bautista Agut

4R: Jakub Mensik [16] / Tallon Griekspoor [23] / Hubert Hurkacz

QF: Lorenzo Musetti [5] / Taylor Fritz [9] / Jiri Lehecka [17] / Stefanos Tsitsipas [31]

SF: Jannik Sinner [2] / Ben Shelton [8] / Casper Ruud [12]

F: Carlos Alcaraz [1] / Alexander Zverev [3] / Alex de Minaur [6]