Featured matches: Friday, January 30th
Men's singles semi-finals
Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs Alexander Zverev (3) | Rod Laver Arena, 04:30 CET
Novak Djokovic (4) vs Jannik Sinner (2) | Rod Laver Arena, 09:30 CET
Alcaraz vs Zverev - 04:30 CET
Match news and form
Carlos Alcaraz, after splitting with his longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero during the offseason, looks razor-focused on avoiding an early wobble in 2026 that could fuel narratives about the coaching change backfiring.
In Melbourne, a venue where he had never gone beyond the quarter-finals in four previous visits, he has not only broken that barrier but made a clear statement, reaching the semi-finals without dropping a set and standing alone with a perfect set record.
The world No. 1 has been operating at historic levels in majors, winning 36 of his last 37 Grand Slam sets, with the only dropped set coming against Sinner in the US Open final. No player in the Open Era has ever produced a more dominant 37-set stretch.
He already owns 89 Grand Slam match wins at just 22, a record for that age. Most satisfying of all is finally breaking the Australian Open barrier by reaching the semi-finals, which also makes him the third-youngest player in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals or better at all four Slams, behind only Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
A frustrating end to 2025 and a lacklustre start to 2026 raised doubts over his credentials as world No. 3, but Alexander Zverev has answered them emphatically at the Australian Open. After a week of play in Melbourne, he has once again proven he belongs as the third-best player in the world by reaching yet another semi-final.
Most encouraging is the timing, with Zverev peaking at exactly the right moment, something he has often lacked in the past. His standout tennis came in week two, cruising past Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets before producing an authoritative four-set win over the dangerous Learner Tien in the quarter-finals.
The German is often labelled the best player never to win a Grand Slam. While bad luck has played a part, given how close he came at the US Open and how consistently he reaches the business end of majors, the bigger issue has been his inability to beat the very best on the biggest stages.
Zverev has regularly overcome elite opponents elsewhere, even at Masters level, but at Slams, the mental hurdle has been glaring. That challenge stands in front of him once again in Melbourne.
To finally claim his maiden major at the Australian Open, he is likely to have to topple world No. 1 Alcaraz and then Sinner or 10-time champion Djokovic.
Head-to-head
Tied at 6-6. Another marker of where Zverev stands relative to the two best players in the world is his remarkably respectable head-to-head record against Sinner and Alcaraz, currently the strongest among active players.
Most encouraging is his record against the Spaniard on the biggest stages. Their Grand Slam meetings are split 2-2, with Zverev notably beating Alcaraz at the French Open in 2022 and the Australian Open in 2024.
Stats & facts
Alcaraz has faced lower-ranked opponents 94 times in Grand Slams across his career and has been beaten only seven times. The most recent such defeat came against Djokovic at the Australian Open 2025.
It is at the sharp end of tournaments that Alcaraz truly separates himself. He holds a 7–2 record in Grand Slam semi-finals, with his only defeats coming against Djokovic at the French Open 2023 and Daniil Medvedev at the US Open 2023.
Zverev has a poor record against top-five players at Grand Slams, with just one win in 14 such matches. Positively for him, that lone victory came against Alcaraz at this very venue in Melbourne in 2024.
This also marks Zverev’s third consecutive semi-final appearance at the Australian Open. He blew a two-set lead against Medvedev in 2024, before benefiting from a retirement win over Djokovic in 2025.
Betting analysis
Given Zverev’s well-documented struggles in closing out Grand Slam matches against elite opposition, he cannot be trusted outright against Alcaraz at this stage. That said, Zverev’s backhand and serve are elite-level weapons that keep him competitive against the very best, including Djokovic, Alcaraz, and Sinner.
If those weapons continue to fire as they have over the last two rounds, Zverev is well-positioned to stay close and potentially turn this into a proper battle, even pulling off a big upset.
From a betting perspective, Zverev +6.5 games, over 9.5 aces, and over 15.5 total games for the German all appear very backable.
Alcaraz in 2026
Best results: First tournament
Best results on outdoor hard courts: First tournament
Record: 5-0
Record in the last 10 matches: 9-1
Record on outdoor hard courts: 5-0
Record against top 10: 1-0 (career 53-24)
Record in Grand Slam semi-finals: 0-0 (career 7-2)
Record in semi-finals: 0-0 (career 32-12)
Alcaraz at the Australian Open
Career record: 16-4
Best result: Semi-finals (2026)
Last year's result: Quarter-finals
Record in semi-finals: 0-0
Preparation: None
Road to the semi-finals: Walton (6-3, 7-6, 6-2), Hanfmann (7-6, 6-3, 6-2), (32) Moutet (6-2, 6-4, 6-1), (19) Paul (7-6, 6-4, 7-5), (6) De Minaur (7-5, 6-2, 6-1)
Zverev in 2026
Best results: First individual tournament
Best results on outdoor hard courts: First individual tournament
Record: 6-1
Record in the last 10 matches: 8-2
Record on outdoor hard courts: 6-1
Record against top 10: 0-0 (career 58-80)
Record in Grand Slam semi-finals: 0-0 (career 3-6)
Record in semi-finals: 0-0 (career 40-38)
Zverev at the Australian Open
Career record: 36-10
Best result: final (2025)
Last year's result: Final
Record in semi-finals: 1-2
Preparation: United Cup (record 1-1)
Road to the semi-finals: Diallo (6-7, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2), Muller (6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4), (26) Norrie (7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1), (18) F. Cerundolo (6-2, 6-4, 6-4), (25) Tien (6-3, 6-7, 6-1, 7-6)
Djokovic vs Sinner - 09:30 CET
Match news and form
Novak Djokovic is currently enduring the longest Grand Slam title drought of his career, and at this stage, it increasingly feels as though he needs a fair amount of luck to finally break it. If anyone has earned that fortune, though, it is Djokovic, given the physical and mental toll he has absorbed at this level over the past 15 years.
In Melbourne this fortnight, luck has already played its part. He looked completely down and out in his quarter-final, trailing by two sets against Lorenzo Musetti, before an unexpected retirement handed him passage into the semi-finals. Notably, he has not won a set since the third-round win over Botic van de Zandschulp during the first week.
The obstacle standing between Djokovic and Grand Slam No. 25 is simple to define but brutally hard to solve. Ranked behind Alcaraz and Sinner, Djokovic is now forced to beat one, and often both, to lift a major. At this stage of his career, winning back-to-back battles against them over five sets is a huge ask.
While Djokovic has still managed to win big matches against Alcaraz in recent years, Sinner remains the real roadblock. The Italian has become Djokovic’s toughest matchup, and the primary reason why Djokovic’s dominance at the top and window for adding more biggest titles has narrowed so sharply.
Elite players often need just one moment of fortune to snap back into ruthless mode, and Jannik Sinner is a perfect example of that. After a lucky escape against Eliot Spizzirri in the third round, aided by a timely break and the roof closing, Sinner quietly reset and took complete control.
He then dismantled Luciano Darderi in straight sets in the last 16 before overpowering Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals. His Australian Open winning streak now stands at 19 matches, leaving him just two wins away from matching Djokovic's record of three consecutive Australian Open titles.
After relinquishing the world No. 1 ranking to Alcaraz at the back end of the 2025 season, Sinner has been on a clear mission to reclaim the top spot.
Although a title run at this year’s Australian Open will not be enough to return him to world No. 1 by next Monday, Sinner will be hoping his current elite streak in big matches propels him to another Australian Open title and helps him close the gap on Alcaraz in the ATP rankings.
Sinner has reached at least the final in each of the last five Grand Slams and is riding a 12-match winning streak against top-10 opponents. Even more striking is the dominance of that run, losing just two sets across those 12 top-10 encounters.
Head-to-head
Sinner leads 6-4 in official matches. At a time when Djokovic was dominating the rest of the tour with no clear rival in sight, Sinner emerged as the unexpected force capable of slowing, and even halting, his reign at the top.
In a striking role reversal, Sinner has beaten Djokovic in the same ruthless fashion the Serbian once imposed on everyone else. He is now on a five-match winning streak against Djokovic in official meetings and has won each of the last nine sets they have contested.
Stats & facts
Djokovic is the most successful player in Australian Open history, having won the title 10 times. Remarkably, he has lost only one completed semi-final match in Melbourne, which came against Sinner in 2024.
Sinner (5) is now Djokovic’s third most frequent semi-final opponent at Grand Slams, behind only Roger Federer (11) and Nadal (6). Djokovic won their first-ever Slam semi-final meeting at Wimbledon 2023, but since then, Sinner has won the last three in a row.
The Italian has not lost a completed match since his US Open defeat to Alcaraz in 2025. His last loss at the Australian Open came back in 2023, a five-set defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Sinner has played 53 matches at hard-court slams in his career against lower-ranked opponents and has lost only two of them, falling to Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open 2025 and Alexander Zverev at the US Open 2023.
Betting analysis
If Djokovic plays as poorly as he did against Musetti, and if this matchup follows the pattern of his recent meetings with Sinner, a straight-sets win for Sinner is a very real outcome. That said, a 3-0 scoreline against the greatest Australian Open champion priced around 1.80 offers poor value given Djokovic’s stature.
Purely from a value perspective, the inflated odds around 8.00 on Djokovic are difficult to ignore. Small-unit plays on Djokovic to win a set and a speculative punt on Djokovic to win the match make sense if he can tap into his elite big-match experience and find one last way to disrupt and survive.
Djokovic in 2026
Best results: First tournament
Best results on outdoor hard courts: First tournament
Record: 4-0
Record in the last 10 matches: 9-1
Record on outdoor hard courts: 4-0
Record against top 10: 1-0 (career 264-120)
Record in Grand Slam semi-finals: 0-0 (career 37-16)
Record in semi-finals: 0-0 (career 142-55)
Djokovic at the Australian Open
Career record: 103-10
Best result: Title (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023)
Last year's result: Semi-finals
Record in semi-finals: 10-2
Preparation: None
Road to the semi-finals: Martinez (6-3, 6-2, 6-2), Maestrelli (6-3, 6-2, 6-2), Van De Zandschulp (6-3, 6-4, 7-6), (16) Mensik (w/o), (5) Musetti (4-6, 3-6, 3-1 ret.)
Sinner in 2026
Best results: First tournament
Best results on outdoor hard courts: First tournament
Record: 5-0
Record in the last 10 matches: 10-0
Record on outdoor hard courts: 5-0
Record against top 10: 1-0 (career 60-36)
Record in Grand Slam semi-finals: 0-0 (career 6-2)
Record in semi-finals: 0-0 (career 33-11)
Sinner at the Australian Open
Career record: 27-4
Best result: Title (2024, 2025)
Last year's result: title
Record in semi-finals: 2-0
Preparation: None
Road to the semi-finals: Gaston (6-2, 6-1 ret.), Duckworth (6-1, 6-4, 6-2), Spizzirri (4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4), (22) Darderi (6-1, 6-3, 7-6), (8) Shelton (6-3, 6-4, 6-4)
