Usual suspects Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will all be preparing for their title conquests with the eagerly anticipated Australian Open men’s singles main draw releasing earlier today.

The main draw will commence on January 12, and early on, there are many exciting matchups to watch. It is safe to say that the draw is not without its fair share of blockbuster clashes in the lead-up to the big final at the Rod Laver Arena on January 26th after two long and intense weeks of sporting action in Melbourne.

The draw has yielded mixed results, with some having their road to the latter stages of the tournament handed to them on a platter while every match will extract equal effort for others. While there will be no top-seed clashes till at least the quarterfinals, there are several underdogs and wildcards who can cause an upset early on.

Without further ado, here’s a look at the biggest winner and loser from the men’s singles draw at the 2025 Australian Open.

Record winner Novak Djokovic handed nightmare run with likely quarterfinal blockbuster

Novak Djokovic has not been handed an easy draw in his quest for a record 11th triumph at the Happy Slam with a potential heavyweight clash in the quarterfinals against ace Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.

The 37-year-old Serb enters the tournament on the back of a shock exit at the Brisbane Open to 293rd-ranked Reilly Opelka. He lost in straight sets, 6-7(6), 3-6 to the American.

Djokovic is set to begin his campaign against American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy in the first round. The World No. 133 recently made history as he became the youngest American since Opelka in 2016 to reach a tour-level semifinal with his performance at the ASB Classic.

Should he beat the 19-year-old prodigy, the second round seems to be some respite for the 37-year-old as he will face either Pavel Kotov or qualifier Jaime Faria in the second round. Victory will see Djokovic set up a Brisbane Open rematch as he will likely lock horns with Reilly Opelka should the latter also progress. The American’s towering presence will surely be a worry for the Serb, having lost to his counterpart just a week ago.

A likely fourth-round encounter against 10th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov or Brisbane Open winner Jiri Lehecka could also cause trouble for the Serb.

In what is probably the match of the tournament, barring the final, safe navigation from both parties will mean a rematch of the 2024 Paris Olympics final, with Djokovic likely to face Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Australian Open.

The 21-year-old Spaniard begins his campaign against Alexander Schevchenko and looks poised to comfortably make his way till the last eight at least. While Djokovic got the better of Alcaraz in their most recent meeting in Paris, the latter has beaten the 37-year-old in back-to-back Wimbledon finals and will relish that the Serb has not been in particularly dangerous form since their last matchup. Second-seeded Alexander Zverev awaits the victor in the semifinal.

The trio of Djokovic, Alcaraz and Zverev headline the bottom half of the draw, while Jannik Sinner and last year’s runner-up Daniil Medvedev dominate the top half.

Reigning champion Jannik Sinner escapes heavyweights in title defence

Defending champion Jannik Sinner seems to have got the easier side of the draw, having avoided chief rivals Alcaraz and Djokovic, with the duo even set to face each other in the quarterfinals.

The World No. 1 opted out of a warmup tournament once again as he will play his first match of 2025 against Chilean Nicolas Jarry, who was ranked as high as 16th in May 2024. The first-round opponents currently have an even record against each other. A win will set up a fairly straightforward clash with either Australian wildcard Tristan Schoolkate or Taro Daniel in the second round.

32nd-ranked Flavio Cobolli could be a potential hurdle for the Italian Sinner, but he will back himself to comfortably dispatch his compatriot. His first real test awaits in the fourth round, where the 23-year-old is poised to take on 16th-seeded Holger Rune, with whom he shares a 2-2 record.

A win will see him likely face eighth-seeded home favourite Alex De Minaur in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. However, Sinner shouldn’t be too worried, considering the Italian’s staggering 9-0 unbeaten record against the Australian. De Minaur has only ever won one set out of the 21 played between the pair.

Sinner will probably face either fourth-seeded Taylor Fritz or fifth-seeded Medvedev in the semifinal. The Italian will be the heavy favourite, however, having beaten Fritz in the 2024 US Open final and Medvedev in the Australian Open final last year to take home his first two Grand Slams.

A final against either arch-nemesis Alcaraz or record-winner Djokovic could be on the cards for the defending champion.