American Sebastian Korda is in Day 1 action at the Australian Open against countryman Michael Zheng, while Francisco Cerundolo battles Zhizhen Zhang. Cerundolo comes in as the No. 18 seed in Melbourne.
Sebastian Korda vs. (Q) Michael Zheng
Michael Zheng has already had to work hard in Melbourne. The world No. 174 came up through 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.
All of that is likely good news for Korda, who made it to the quarters at a warmup event in Brisbane before losing to Thanasi Kokkinakis in a three-set thriller at the Adelaide International. The world No. 51 reached the Aussie Open quarters in 2023, so when he is 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 last year at Indian Wells and has played sparingly since it happened (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 (lost to Jaume Munar right away in Adelaide), but he still won’t be as rusty as Zhang.
The Argentine hasn’t had the most stellar results in Melbourne, with his best result 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’s difficult to guess how quickly he will work his way back to competitive form at the best-of-five level.
Cheryl pick: Cedundolo in 3
Ricky pick: Cerundolo in 4
WWW?
Korda in 4; Dolo in 3