Find out who our Aussie contenders face in the opening round of the Australian Open 2024 men’s and women’s singles competitions.
Melbourne, Australia, 11 January 2024 | Leigh Rogers
The Australian Open 2024 men’s and women’s singles draws are set.
Alex de Minaur leads a strong Aussie contingent in the men’s singles competition.
The 24-year-old, who this week became the first Australian man to hold a top-10 ranking in 17 years, begins his Australian Open campaign against former world No.3 Milos Raonic.
The big-serving Canadian is returning from an extended injury lay-off and used a protected ranking to enter.
Eight Australian men received direct acceptance into the draw, which is a 25-year high. With the addition of five wildcards, this boosts the total number of local competitors to 13 (equalling the most since 1999).
There are two all-Australian match-ups in the opening round, including a showdown between world No.47 Jordan Thompson and world No.63 Aleksandar Vukic.
The Sydneysiders also faced-off at the Brisbane International earlier this month.
| Australian Open 2024 Men’s singles, first round |
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| Player | Rank | Player | Rank | |
| [10] Alex de Minaur (AUS) | 10 | v | Milos Raonic (CAN) | 317 |
| Alexei Popyrin (AUS) | 43 | v | [WC] Marc Polmans (AUS) | 156 |
| Max Purcell (AUS) | 45 | v | Qualifier | |
| Jordan Thompson (AUS) | 47 | v | Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) | 63 |
| Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) | 68 | v | Sebastian Ofner (AUT) | 37 |
| Rinky Hijikata (AUS) | 70 | v | [24] Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) | 24 |
| Chris O’Connell (AUS) | 71 | v | Cristian Garin (CHI) | 88 |
| [WC] James Duckworth (AUS) | 96 | v | Luca Van Assche (FRA) | 87 |
| [WC] Jason Kubler (AUS) | 112 | v | Daniel Elahi Galan (COL) | 89 |
| [WC] Adam Walton (AUS) | 176 | v | Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) | 41 |
| [WC] James McCabe (AUS) | 278 | v | Alex Michelsen (USA) | 92 |
> VIEW: Australian Open 2024 men’s singles draw
Australian women have been dealt tough draws too, with four players pitted against top-50 opponents in the opening round.
Kimberly Birrell and Olivia Gadecki begin their respective campaigns against Grand Slam champions.
The 25-year-old Birrell faces world No.12 Jelena Ostapenko, the Roland Garros 2017 winner, while 21-year-old Gadecki meets US Open 2017 champion Sloane Stephens.
Taylah Preston, a promising 18-year-old, will make her Grand Slam main-draw debut against 19th seed Elina Svitolina.
| Australian Open 2024 Women’s singles, first round |
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| Player | Rank | Player | Rank | |
| [WC] Kimberly Birrell (AUS) | 113 | v | [11] Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) | 12 |
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