Alcaraz and Sabalenka top seeds as Australian Open draw set for 15 January

Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka are the top seeds ahead of the Australian Open main draw in Melbourne, the Independent.co reports, with Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek the second seeds; the draw will take place on Thursday 15 January at 2:30pm local time (3:30am UK time) and the final round of qualifying is also on that day.

Alcaraz and Sinner could become the first men to play in four consecutive grand slam finals since Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal did so between 2011 and 2012. Alcaraz is bidding for his first Australian Open title and, the report says, would become the youngest man of all time to complete the career grand slam if he succeeds, while Sinner is chasing a hat-trick of Melbourne titles.

On the women’s side Sabalenka, the US Open champion, and Swiatek, the Wimbledon champion, have yet to meet in a grand slam final; Swiatek is also an Australian Open title away from a career grand slam and Sabalenka will look to regain the crown after last year’s shock defeat to Madison Keys.

Key Topics

Sports, Australian Open, Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek