American Sebastian Korda will play fellow countryman Michael Zheng on day 1 of the Australian Open, while Francisco Cerundolo will battle Zhizhen Zhang. Cerundolo enters Melbourne as the No. 18 seed.
Sebastian Korda vs. (Q) Michael Zheng
Michael Zheng has already had to work hard in Melbourne. The world number 174 came to the fore in qualifying, notably playing Cruz Hewitt (Lleyton Hewitt’s son) in his opener. He had a two-hour encounter with Lukas Klein and saved a match point to earn his spot in the main draw.
That’s likely all good news for Korda, who reached the quarter-finals at a warm-up event in Brisbane before losing to Thanasi Kokkinakis in a three-set thriller at the Adelaide International. The world number 51 reached the Aussie Open quarters in 2023, so when he’s healthy – as he is now – he generally plays well Down Under.
Cheryl pick: Korda in 3
Ricky pick: Korda in 4
(18) Francisco Cerundolo vs. (PR) Zhizhen Zhang
China’s Zhizhen Zhang suffered a serious shoulder injury at Indian Wells last year and has played sparingly since (three Asian swing tournaments and the United Cup earlier this year). He comes into the Australian Open ranked 362nd in the world. Opponent Francisco Cerundolo has contested just one match in 2026 (losing straight away to Jaume Munar in Adelaide), but he still won’t be as rusty as Zhang.
The Argentinian has not had the best results in Melbourne, with his best results coming in the third round (2023 and 2025). But he usually gets through the opening round well enough. Zhang is a good player when he is fit, but with this long layoff it is difficult to guess how quickly he will work his way back to competitive form at the best-of-five level.
Cheryl’s choice: Cedundolo in 3
Ricky choice: Cerundolo in 4
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