MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA) (ITALPRESS) – Jannik Sinner will find Carlos Alcaraz or Novak Djokovic only in a possible final, one between Lorenzo Musetti and Matteo Arnaldi will say goodbye already in the first round, soft start for Jasmine Paolini. Australian Open rosters drawn, with the Italian and world No. 1 coming in as defending champion. The first rival on the road to defend the title will be Chilean Nicolas Jarry, a finalist at the last Internationals but whom he defeated a few months ago in three sets in Beijing. Possible a third-round derby with Stefano Cobolli (debut with Argentine Etcheverry, who has beaten him three times out of three), an eighth with Matteo Berrettini (Norrie to debut, second round with one between Zhang and Rune and then possibly Hurkacz) and a quarterfinal with Alex De Minaur or Stefanos Tsitsipas, in a part of the draw that also features Luca Nardi: for the Pesaro-born player, at the first Australian Open of his career, there is Gabriel Diallo. A semifinal against Djokovic and Alcaraz, who ended up in the other half of the draw, is averted for Sinner: the last obstacle to a second final in a row could be Taylor Fritz or Daniil Medvedev, beaten a year ago by the South Tyrolean in the last match of the tournament. In Fritz’s eighth on the draw there will also be an Italian derby, that between Musetti and Arnaldi: the Carrarino has won all three previous direct confrontations, although always on clay. For the winner there will then be one between Bautista Agut Shapovalov with Ben Shelton on the horizon in the third round. On Medvedev’s side, on the other hand, Lorenzo Sonego: for the Turin player immediately Stan Wawrinka, champion in 2014, and possible challenge with Rublev in the next match. In the lower part of the draw, finally, Fabio Fognini and Lorenzo Darderi: unlucky draw for the former, who immediately finds Dimitrov (and in the third round possible clash with Lehecka, fresh from victory in Brisbane) while for Darderi there is Pedro Martinez and a second round with one between Zverev and Pouille. The third quarter of the scoreboard, however, offers mainly the presence of Djokovic and Alcaraz, who for the first time in their careers therefore would not compete in either the semifinals or the final. The Spaniard starts with Shevchenko, for Nole the U.S. teenager Nishesh Basavareddy, running into the semifinals in Auckland this week. Finally, in Zverev’s section, there is also Ruud: the two could cross paths in the quarters. Three Italian women, on the other hand, are starting in the women’s Australian Open. Positive draw for Jasmine Paolini, fourth seed, who will debut with a qualifier. Path within reach for the Tuscan until the round of 16, then possible quarterfinal with Elena Rybakina and hypothetical semifinal with Iga Swiatek (for the former No. 1, however, debut is not easy with Katerina Siniakova). Also in the Polish section is Lucia Bronzetti, whose road to Melbourne will be immediately uphill: first rival Vika Azarenka, a two-time Australian Slam winner. Tough debut also for Elisabetta Cocciaretto, expected by Russian Diana Shnaider, number 13 in the ranking and 12 in the seeding. The Marche woman ended up in the first quarter of the draw, where Aryna Sabalenka and Qinwen Zheng could vie for a spot in the semifinals, in a rematch of the 2024 final. However, the Belarusian, world number one and defending champion, will immediately face Sloane Stephens, winner of the 2017 Us Open. In this regard, Bencic-Ostapenko and Osaka-Garcia are also among the first rounds not to be missed. The Japanese is in the same quarter of the draw as Coco Gauff, who is also expected to play a not easy first, the stars and stripes derby with Sofia Kenin, who triumphed on Australian cement in 2020.- photo Ipa Agency -(ITALPRESS).
