The Australian Open draw ceremony was held on Thursday afternoon in Melbourne and main-draw competition begins on Sunday.
As always, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are overwhelming favorites to lift the trophy. After all, they have shared every single 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 would suggest otherwise, but guys like Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Ben Shelton, and Alexander Bublik cannot be entirely discounted.
Here are my best bets on the men’s side at the 2026 Australian Open.
Carlos Alcaraz (+180)
At -120 odds, Sinner is favored over the entire field. As good as Sinner is on hard courts, it’s hard to argue that the two-time defending champion has good value as such a sizable favorite. Alcaraz is probably a better choice, especially since the world No. 1 arguably has a more favorable draw. His road through the first week is friendly, plus Djokovic is in Sinner’s half. Although the Serb is well past his prime at 38 years old, he is a 10-time champion of this tournament. You would much rather face Zverev, for example, in the semifinals compared to Djokovic. All things considered, Alcaraz has a decent chance to capture his first Aussie Open title.
Daniil Medvedev (+3000)
At relatively long 30-to-1 odds, Medvedev is definitely worth a look. Like Djokovic, he is a former world No. 1 who may no longer be in peak form. However, the Medvedev of old started to show up in the latter stages of 2025 following a disastrous first eight months of the season. The 29-year-old Russian ended his title drought in Almaty, reached semifinals in Beijing and Shanghai, and advanced to the Paris quarters. Medvedev also has a history of success at Melbourne Park, where he is a three-time runner-up. Landing in Zverev’s quarter of the bracket gives the world No. 12 an even better shot.
Ben Shelton (+10000)
Shelton and Bublik are probably the best options among long, long longshots. They are two guys who can take the racket out of opponents’ hands with huge serving and general big hitting 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 necessary, of course, to win a slam. Shelton loves the big stage. He made a run to the Aussie Open semifinals in 2025 and he is also a former U.S. Open semifinalist (2023).
Check out the Australian Open draw at the tournament website
who ya got?