As world number one Jannik Sinner attempts to defend his Australian Open title in 2025, we take a look at the Italian's potential route to the final in Melbourne.
Defending champion Sinner has been handed a potentially awkward first round tie against big-hitting Chilean Nicolas Jarry.
Ranked number 34 in the world, Jarry was just two spots away from being seeded in this year's Australian Open draw and could provide Sinner with a tough early examination in Melbourne.
29-year-old Jarry beat Sinner in the pair's first meeting in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands in 2019 before the Italian levelled the head-to-head at the China Open last year.
Although Jarry will likely be no pushover in the first round, Sinner should make his way through with relative ease to set up a potential second round meeting with Japan's Taro Daniel, against whom the Italian won in straight sets as recently as September 2024 in Shanghai.
Round three could see defending champion Sinner take on another dangerous South American in the form of Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Etcheverry took the opening set in the last meeting between the two players in the third round of the China Open in September 2024 before Sinner fought back for victory and has demonstrated his ability at Grand Slam level having reached the last eight at Roland Garros in 2023.
Should Sinner navigate his way through to the fourth round with minimal fuss as expected, the Italian could cross paths with one of the biggest servers on the ATP Tour in world number 18 Hubert Hurkacz.
Poland's number one Hurkacz proved his capability to go deep in Melbourne last year by reaching the quarter-finals and has beaten Sinner twice in the pair's five professional meetings to date.
Men's Australian Open draw in full
As the Australian Open reaches the quarter-finals stage the pressure is ramped up as the field is narrowed down to the sport's elite, with a previous finalist in Melbourne in Stefanos Tsitsipas potentially lying in wait for world number one Sinner.
It will take a strong run from Greece's number one to book a place in the last eight, with eighth seed and home favourite Alex de Minaur a possible opponent in the fourth round, but if Tsitsipas is to make it through he will fancy his chances of toppling Sinner who he has a 6-3 winning record against.
A run through to the semi-finals could see Sinner take on a number of tennis' most talented stars at present, including Taylor Fritz, Andrey Rublev and Lorenzo Musetti, but it's hard to look past the likelihood of a repeat of last year's final against Daniil Medvedev.
Fifth seed Medevdev has proven he thrives on the Melbourne hard courts and will be desperate to finally get his hands on the Australian Open title having come so close on three separate occasions, none more so than last year having led Sinner by two sets in the final.
Although Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are on the opposite side of the draw to Sinner and are therefore potential final opponents for the Italian in Melbourne, this year's Australian Open appears a presentable opportunity for Alexander Zverev to push for his first taste of Grand Slam success.
Rising to number two in the ATP rankings following a superb 2024 campaign, 27-year-old Zverev is a player in form who looks on the cusp of finally breaking his major duck having reached two Grand Slam finals previously at the US Open in 2020 and at Roland Garros last year.
Zverev reached the semis in Melbourne last year before going down in a five-set grueller against Medvedev and is another player who has a winning record against defending champion Sinner having beaten him in four of six clashes.