The Australian Open draw ceremony took place in Melbourne on Thursday afternoon and the main draw competition starts on Sunday.
As always, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are overwhelming favorites to lift the trophy. After all, they have shared every Grand Slam title since the start of the 2024 season – that’s eight in a row for those counting. Does anyone else have a chance Down Under? The odds suggest otherwise, but guys like Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Ben Shelton and Alexander Bublik cannot be completely ignored.
Here are my best bets on the men’s side for the 2026 Australian Open.
Carlos Alcaraz (+180)
With odds of -120, Sinner is preferred to the entire field. As good as Sinner is on hard courts, it’s hard to argue that the two-time defending champion is a big favorite as such. Alcaraz is probably a better choice, especially since the world number 1 arguably has a more favorable draw. His path through the first week is friendly, and Djokovic is half of Sinner. Although the Serbian is well past his prime at the age of 38, he is a ten-time champion of this tournament. For example, you would much rather face Zverev in the semi-finals than Djokovic. All things considered, Alcaraz has a decent chance of capturing his first Aussie Open title.
Daniil Medvedev (+3000)
With relatively long odds of 30 to 1, Medvedev is certainly worth a look. Like Djokovic, he is a former world number 1 who may no longer be in top form. However, the Medvedev of yesteryear began to emerge in the latter stages of 2025, after a disastrous first eight months of the season. The 29-year-old Russian ended his title drought in Almaty, reached the semi-finals in Beijing and Shanghai and advanced to the quarter-finals in Paris. Medvedev also has a history of success at Melbourne Park, where he finished second three times. By landing in Zverev’s quarter of the race, the world number 12 gets an even better chance.
Ben Shelton (+10000)
Shelton and Bublik are probably the best options among the long range shots. They are two guys who can take the racket out of the opponent’s hands with huge serves and general big shots from the back of the court. Bublik’s peak is arguably even better than Shelton’s, but the eighth-ranked American probably has a better chance of stringing together seven matches – which is obviously necessary to win a slam. Shelton loves the big stage. He made a run to the semi-finals of the Aussie Open in 2025 and he is also a former US Open semi-finalist (2023).
View the Australian Open draw on the tournament website
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