Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts after defeating Croatia’s Dino Prizmic in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during her first round match against Germany’s Ella Seidel at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — After a first round that was scheduled over three days at the Australian Open for the first time, the second round gets started Wednesday at Melbourne Park. Stay up-to-date with a guide that tells you everything you need to know about how to watch the year’s first Grand Slam tennis tournament, what the schedule is, what the betting odds are, and more:
WHO IS PLAYING ON DAY 4?
Defending champions Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka will feature in the same session again on Rod Laver Arena. But this time Sabalenka will get to play first. Djokovic took four hours to complete his first-round win on Sunday night and Sabalenka didn’t get on court until late. On Wednesday, second-seeded Sabalenka will lead things off in the night session against 16-year-old qualifier Brenda Fruhvirtova. Ten-time winner Djokovic will take on local talent Alexei Popyrin after that. U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff will play fellow American Caroline Dolehide in a day match at Margaret Court Arena. Jannik Sinner, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Ons Jabeur and Caroline Wozniacki are also in action.
BETTING FAVORITES
FanDuel Sportsbook predictably has Djokovic and Sabalenka big favorites to win their second-round matches. Djokovic, who has beaten Popyrin in their only previous meeting, is listed at minus-5,000, Alexei Popyrin at plus-2,300. Sabalenka is at minus-3,000 and Fruhvirtova — one of three 16-year-old players into the second round — is at plus-1,600. The 19-year-old Gauff is at minus-3,500 and Dolehide plus-1,750. Gauff beat Dolehide in their only previous meeting. A plus figure represents longer odds, in which case you’ll win more for your wager, while a minus figure means you’re betting on a more likely outcome — as deemed by FanDuel.
THE SINGLES SCHEDULE
Melbourne’s time zone is 16 hours ahead of the East Coast of the United States, so when Day 4 begins at 11 a.m. local time on Wednesday in Australia, it’ll be 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday. This is the first time the tournament is a 15-day event.
Here is the remaining singles schedule in Australia:
—Wednesday-Thursday: Second Round (Women and Men)
—Friday-Saturday: Third Round (Women and Men)
—Jan. 21-22: Fourth Round (Women and Men)
—Jan. 23-24: Quarterfinals (Women and Men)
—Jan. 25: Women’s Semifinals
—Jan. 26: Men’s Semifinals
—Jan. 27: Women’s Final
—Jan. 28: Men’s Final
HOW TO WATCH THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN ON TV
—In the U.S.: ESPN
KEY RESULTS IN TUESDAY’S DAY SESSION?
Women’s singles: No. 1 Iga Swiatek beat Sofia Kenin 7-6 (2), 6-2; No. 3 Elena Rybakina beat Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (6), 6-4; No. 5 Jessica Pegula beat Rebecca Marino 6-2, 6-4; No. 11 Jelena Ostapenko beat Kimberly Birrell 7-6 (5), 6-1; No. 18 Victoria Azarenka beat Camila Giorgi 6-1, 4-6, 6-3; Sloane Stephens beat Olivia Gadecki 6-3, 6-1; Danielle Collins beat Angelique Kerber 6-2, 3-6, 6-1; Emma Raducanu beat Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-2.
Men’s singles: No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz beat Richard Gasquet 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-2; No. 6 Alexander Zverev beat Dominik Koepfer 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3; No. 8 Holger Rune beat Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4; No. 11 Casper Ruud beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-3, 6-1; No. 13 Grigor Dimitrov beat Marton Fucsovics 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-2; No. 14 Tommy Paul beat Gregoire Barrere 6-2, 6-3, 6-3; No. 19 Cameron Norrie beat Juan Pablo Varillas 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
STATS TO KNOW
30 — Of the 32 seeded players who started in the men’s singles draw, a record 30 advanced to the second round.
36 — the number of first-round matches Iga Swiatek has won in a row since 2021.
48 — With Tuesday’s win, two-time former champion Victoria Azarenka ranks sixth with the most singles wins at the Australian Open in the Open Era, surpassing four-time Australian champion Steffi Graf.
WORDS TO KNOW
“For sure, it’s different to be back like this. I think I’m quite open more than before. I’m also more relaxed. So I feel that, yeah, (other players) appreciate it and I think it’s nice to see so many moms are back on tour.” — Kerber on her, Naomi Osaka and Caroline Wozniacki returning to the Australian Open as moms for the first time.
“Yeah, my psychologist told me today. It’s good that my team knows because they can get me ready for any situation.” — Swiatek on changes at the Australian Open which allows spectators to enter or exit the arena at the end of each game rather than only during changeovers.
