Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️
Today’s tennis mood: Impressed + highly curious.
Have you adjusted to Melbourne time? Perhaps you’re pursuing a more reasonable strategy of maintaining your normal sleep schedule and hoping there’s a match still on when you get up in the morning. Either way, there’s a lot to digest in these early rounds.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
(New to Court Theory? Sign up for free!)
🎾 Another record: Novak Djokovic defeated Pedro Martinez in the first round in Melbourne on Monday. And, with it, he sets another record of becoming the only man to win 100 matches at three of the majors.
What he said: “Tonight’s performance was great, I can’t complain about anything. I served very well,” said Djokovic. “It’s always a challenge to kick-start the tournament on the right note and send the right signal not only to yourself but your opponents watching you play.” He added: “I have a couple of days without a match to recover my body. I’m using every hour to get in shape for the next challenge.”
Next: Djokovic faces Francesco Maestrelli, the ATP number 141 from Italy, in the next round.
🎾 Watch this: Tennis fans always want to know what the players are up to during the off-season (aside from the Maldives). Court Theory friend Anastasia Folorunso of Ground Pass just launched her documentary series, appropriately called Off Season, to give us some answers. Check out the first episode here.
🎾 Win Elina Svitolina’s racket: We’ve partnered with Diadem to give away one of Elina Svitolina’s stunning new rackets: The Elina Svitolina Signature Axis 98. The racket giveaway is for Court Theory Plus members who have signed up for a yearly subscription. And, if you’re a monthly subscriber, Diadem’s got you covered, too, with a backpack filled with gear coming in at a $150+ value. If you’re already a Court Theory Plus member, you’re automatically entered. Upgrade Now!
🎾 One to watch: Hubert Hurkacz vs. Zizou Bergs (1st round - Melbourne - Australian Open): In the Australian Open Court Theory preview, we called this one out as one of our unfortunate first-round matches. The two hottest men’s singles players from the United Cup doing battle right off the bat feels wrong in so many ways. But, since they are, take this one in for the massive serving, big groundies, and finishing points off at the net that these two are sure to deliver.
The record: This will be the first time Hubert Hurkacz and Zizou Bergs have faced each other.
On the line: Bergs is making his fourth main draw appearance in Melbourne and has yet to win a match at the Happy Slam. Getting on the board is his goal today. Meanwhile, Hubert Hurkacz is eager to keep the good momentum from the United Cup going after spending the second half of last year sidelined with an injury.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
And that’s game.
NEW AT COURT THEORY
Australian Open 2026: A Court Theory Guide
Everything you need to know for this year’s Australian Open.
JOIN THE CLUB
Become a Court Theory Plus Member today!
Upgrade your Court Theory experience and support independent journalism at the same time for as little as the cost of a can of tennis balls each month!
Matches we’re monitoring today:
Melbourne - Australian Open (Hard)
Women’s matches
Naomi Osaka vs Antonia Ruzic (1st round)
Elena Rybakina vs. Kaja Juvan (1st round)
Katie Boulter vs. Belinda Bencic (1st round)
Tereza Valentova vs. Maya Joint (1st round)
Sloane Stephens vs. Karolina Pliskova (1st round)
Rebecca Sramkova vs. Jelena Ostapenko (1st round)
Ashlyn Krueger vs. Sara Bejlek (1st round)
Anna Kalinskaya vs. Sonay Kartal (1st round)
Men’s matches
Ben Shelton vs. Ugo Humbert (1st round)
Lorenzo Musetti vs. Raphael Collignon (1st round)
Shintaro Mochizuki vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (1st round)
Karen Khachanov vs. Alex Michelsen (1st round)
Dane Sweeny vs. Gael Monfils (1st round)
Grigor Dimitrov vs. Tomas Machac (1st round)
Joao Fonseca vs. Elio Spizzirri (1st round)
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs. Sebastian Baez (1st round)
Rei Sakamoto vs. Rafael Jodar (1st round)
Ethan Quinn vs. Tallon Griekspoor (1st round)
📺 Learn how to watch today’s action over at Tennis Watchers.
💬 For real-time match commentary and conversation, follow Court Theory on Bluesky.
Stan Wawrinka did something special on Monday — maybe it was his lucky shorts.
Retirements claimed too many wins.
Everybody is getting on Coco Gauff about her double faults, but let’s get real.
Charlie Eccleshare gets into the psychology of ATP players attempting to peel off a single win from Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz.
Alycia Parks discusses how he overcame a bagel and a crowd full of Alex Eala supporters to take the win in their first-round match.
Valentin Vacherot explains exactly how different his life is now as a top 50 player.
Novak Djokovic talks to Carlos Alcaraz about his copyright infringement.
Marta Kostyuk confirms she tore ligaments in her ankle during her loss to Elsa Jacquemot.
ESPN scores a Q&A with Alex de Minaur.
The Australian Open seems unaware of how many tickets it sold.
Far from Melbourne, Bianca Andreescu won her first tournament since the 2019 U.S. Open.
Daria Kasatkina has dropped a new episode of What The Vlog.
