Next to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the top two players in the world, Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime was the hottest player on the ATP Tour in the closing months of 2025.
After winning only two matches in the first three majors of the year, the 25-year-old seemingly out of nowhere reached the semifinals of the 2025 U.S. Open. In the fall, Auger-Aliassime won in Brussels, reached the finals in Paris and got into the year-end ATP Finals, where he fell in the semifinals to Alcaraz.
But the injury bug, which has plagued the lanky, big ball-striker in the past, bit him in the first round of the 2026 Australian Open on Monday in Melbourne. The seventh-seeded Auger-Aliassime had to retire, while trailing 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to Portugal’s Nuno Borges, due to persistent leg cramps.
“I want to be on the court winning. I want to be on the court competing with my opponent,” said Auger-Aliassime, ranked No. 8 in the world. “I don’t want to be just standing there like a punching bag. So there’s no point, and you know to move on.”
Ten-time champion Novak Djokovic defeated Spain’s Pedro Martinez 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 for his 100th win at the Australian Open (100-10 record). The fourth-seeded Serbian has also reached the century mark at Wimbledon (102-13) and the French Open (101-17) and is 95-15 at the U.S. Open.
Djokovic, 38, finished with an overwhelming 49-14 edge in winners.
“What can I say? I like the sound of it. … Centurion is pretty nice,” Djokovic said. “It’s nice to be a centurion in these numbers. History making is a great motivation, particularly in the last five, 10 years of my career. Once I got myself in a position to create history, I was even more inspired to play the best tennis.”
Home favorite and sixth-seeded Alex de Minaur of Australia cruised past lucky loser Mackenzie McDonald, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour, 48 minutes. McDonald committed 42 unforced errors.
No. 11 Daniil Medvedev of Russia defeated the Netherlands’ Jesper de Jong, 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (2) thanks to 47 winners and fine net play, where he won 33 of 44 points.
No. 12 Casper Ruud of Norway and No. 13 Andrey Rublev of Russia posted straight-sets wins against Italian foes, with Ruud winning 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 over Mattia Bellucci and Rublev beating Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.
No. 14 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain was a 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 winner over Austria’s Filip Misolic, while French qualifier Arthur Gea upended 17th-seeded Czech Jiri Lehecka 7-5, 7-6 (1), 7-5 and Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan upset No. 24 Arthur Rinderknech of France 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-4.
No. 19 Tommy Paul knocked off countryman Aleksandar Kovacevic, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. Paul smashed 20 aces with no double faults. He did not face a break point and produced 38 winners to only 16 unforced errors.
No. 21 Denis Shapovalov of Canada eliminated China’s Yunchaokete Bu 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-1. No. 25 Learner Tien had a tougher time with fellow American Marcos Giron before advancing in a 7-6 (2), 4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 thriller.
Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp knocked out No. 27 Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (3). Nakashima’s American compatriot Martin Damm fell 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to No. 30 Valentin Vacherot of Monaco.
Unseeded players advancing included Croatia’s Marin Cilic, France’s Quentin Halys and Alexandre Muller, Australia’s Rinky Hijikata and Jordan Thompson, Italy’s Francesco Maestrelli, Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak, Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic, Spain’s Jaume Munar, American Reilly Opelka, Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka, Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante, China’s Juncheng Shang and Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko.
–Field Level Media
