Australian Open: Sinner, Djokovic drawn in same half; Sabalenka faces French wildcard

Record 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic and world number two Jannik Sinner are on a path to meet in the semifinals after both tennis icons were drawn in the same half of the Australian Open draw, revealed on Thursday in Melbourne.

Djokovic, a 10-time winner at Melbourne Park, will continue his quest for a record-extending 25th Slam while Sinner will be gunning to claim his third Australian Open title.

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If both players succeed in racking up wins till the quarterfinal stage, fans will witness a rematch of the 2024 semifinal when the 24-year-old Italian beat Djokovic en route to his maiden Grand Slam title.

Sinner leads Djokovic 6-4 in the ATP Head-to-Head stats, which the Serbian once dominated 4-1.

"The draw is very difficult; it doesn’t matter who you play," said Sinner at the draw ceremony. "We are the best players in the world and the way is very, very long." 

Djokovic, who will open his campaign against 71st-ranked Spaniard Pedro Martinez, could face fifth-seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-finals

Meanwhile, top seed and world number one Carlos Alcaraz will face 79th-ranked Australian Adam Walton in the opening round. In his quest for the seventh Major title, the Spaniard has a relatively easy route as he aims to win his first Australian Open crown and become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam.

The young Spaniard has local favourite Alex de Minaur in his quarter of the draw, but their potential meeting depends on the Australian's opening round result against Italian Matteo Berrettini, the Wimbledon runner-up in 2021.

In women's draw, two-time champion Sabalenka has an easy route to the quarterfinal before a potential semi-final against third seed Coco Gauff.

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Meanwhile, women's second seed Iga Swiatek will face a qualifier in the first round, but could meet Kazakh Elena Rybakina in a crunch quarter-final. 

Rybakina will face unseeded Slovene Kaja Juvan in the first round. Meanwhile, defending champion Madison Keys, who lost her quarterfinal match at the Adelaide International today (Thursday), will face unseeded Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova in the opener.