Australian Open 2026: Jannik Sinner advances to second round; defending champion Madison Keys survive

MELBOURNE: Double defending champion Jannik Sinner advanced to the second round of the ongoing Australian Open after his French opponent, Hugo Gaston, retired after losing the first two sets 6-2, 6-1 on Saturday.

The Italian star and World No. 2 was in ominous form in his round one match at the Rod Laver Arena court, and after winning the second set, his French opponent retired. Notably, this is Sinner’s first competitive match since defeating his arch-rival and World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz for the ATP finals crown.

Jannik Sinner hits an amazing drop shot, during his 1st Round Australian Open match, against Gaston. #AO26 pic.twitter.com/8U4k3b6j0z

— Sports Report HQ (@SportsReportHQ) January 20, 2026

On the other hand, Eighth seed Ben Shelton displayed a sensational performance as he beat Ugo Humbert 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-5) in a thrilling battle at the men’s singles round one match at Rod Laver Arena.

Australian qualifier Dane Sweeny defeated Gael Monfils 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 6-4, 7-5 in a match that lasted nearly four hours, knocking out the French veteran in his 20th and final Australian Open.

Lorenzo Musetti advanced to the second round after he secured a win over his Belgian opponent Raphael Collignon, who retired after trailing 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 3-2. Musetti will play fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the second round.

In the women’s singles first round, defending champion Madison Keys survived a nervy match as she defeated Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova to move to the second round of the Australian Open 2026 event. Keys lost the opening four games, clawed her way back to a tie-break and had to save two set points before finally relaxing and pulling away to win 7-6 (8-6), 6-1.

Two-time champion Naomi Osaka also registered a comfortable win against Croatian Antonia Ruzic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Elena Rybakina also started her campaign on an impressive note with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Kaja Juvan in a match that lasted just 72 minutes, firing 22 winners past the Slovenian. (ANI)