MELBOURNE: Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys made winning debuts in their Australian Open title defense on Tuesday, but former champion Naomi Osaka caused a stir on the third day of the tournament with a dazzling entrance before her match.
Popular Frenchman Gael Monfils meanwhile bid farewell to Melbourne Park with an epic defeat and thanks for “an incredible ride”.
Sinner, who is chasing a third straight title at Melbourne Park, spent just 68 minutes at Rod Laver Arena in his first outing of the 2026 season before Hugo Gaston withdrew due to injury in losing 6-2, 6-1.
The world number two consoled the crying Frenchman and wished him a good recovery before declaring himself delighted with the results of his off-season training.
“I was very happy,” said the Italian. “We did a lot of work to get back on the pitch and it was great. Obviously that’s not the way you want to win the game, but for my part, I’m very happy to be back on the pitch. I knew from the start that I had to play at a very high level and I tried to be as aggressive as possible, which I did.”
Sinner showed some signs of rust early and was forced to save three break points in his first service game before regaining his imperious touch.
If he wins three titles in a row in Melbourne, Sinner would join Novak Djokovic as the only man in the Open era to do so.
Melbourne Park’s favorite Frenchman in recent years, Monfils, was eliminated in the first round in a courageous farewell to a tournament he has lit up so many times over the years.
The 39-year-old, one of the most colorful and popular players in men’s tennis, fought to the end, but Australian qualifier Dane Sweeny prevailed 6-7 (3/7), 7-5, 6-4, 7-5 in a nearly four-hour epic.
There was an on-field presentation and a standing ovation for Monfils, who said: “My journey started in 2003 with you guys, now it’s 2026 and one way or another it’s the finish line, but thank you very much for this incredible adventure.”
Monfils, who has won 13 ATP titles in a career dating back to 2004, said in October that this year would be his last in tennis.
American Keys admitted to being “very nervous” as she launched her first Grand Slam title defense with a shaky 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 victory over Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova.
Keys stunned Aryna Sabalenka 12 months ago in a three-set classic to win her first major crown at the age of 29, but she failed to persevere, failing to win another title in 2025.
Double break thanks to untimely double faults, Keys trailed 4-0 before forcing a tie-break in which the unorthodox Oliynykova sowed chaos with her deep, looping shots.
Oliynykova scored two set points, but Keys erased the deficit with some big scoring shots to finally snatch a tense tiebreak before cruising through the second stanza.
“I think at first I just felt like I was playing a little timid and not really trusting my first instinct,” the ninth seed said. “I felt like I was constantly changing my mind about what I actually wanted to do. I felt like I was reacting instead of having a plan for what I wanted to do.”
Oliynykova, playing in her first major tournament, wore temporary tattoos on her face – blue flowers to match her outfit and the court – but she was outshone in the fashion stakes by Osaka.
INSPIRED BY JELLYFISH
In one of the boldest fashion statements ever seen on a tennis court, Osaka entered Rod Laver Arena carrying a white parasol with a voluminous veil and wore a wide-brimmed hat over a long turquoise tunic with frilly white pants.
The 28-year-old Japanese is well known for her fashion statements on and off the field. She waved regally to the crowd and the four-time Grand Slam champion then folded the umbrella and carefully placed the hat and veil to the side.
The 2019 and 2021 Melbourne Park champion’s tennis was at times less impressive than her self-designed outfit, but Osaka finished strongly to beat Croatian Antonia Ruzic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 and take her place in the second round.
“It’s inspired by a jellyfish,” she said of her outfit. “I’m so grateful to be able to do the things I love. It’s truly beautiful.”
US Open 2021 finalist Leylah Fernandez was not so lucky and lost 6-2, 7-6 (7/1) to Janice Tjen, who became the first Indonesian to win a match at the Australian Open in 28 years.
Tjen, who this time last year was ranked 413 but is now world number 59, is the first Indonesian to win a match at a major tournament since Yayuk Basuki in 1998.
There were comfortable first-round wins for fifth seed Elena Rybakina, in-form Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion who was expected to qualify for the season-opening major, lost to Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (9/7), 6-2, while Tereza Valentova beat Australian Maya Joint in straight sets.
TSITSIPAS GATHERINGS
On the men’s side, 2023 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas had to bounce back from a set down to beat Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki and avoid a first-round elimination for the second year in a row.
Sinner’s compatriot Lorenzo Musetti, seeded fifth, also improved after his Belgian opponent Raphael Collignon retired in the fourth set.
Eighth seed Ben Shelton, who lost to Sinner in last year’s semi-final, beat Ugo Humbert in three tight sets while fellow American Taylor Fritz, seeded one place lower, needed four to overcome French opposition in the form of Valentin Royer.
But the Brazilian Joao Fonseca, 19, presented on the eve of the tournament by Roger Federer as a star of the future, was dropped by Eliot Spizzirri at the first hurdle.
The American defied the crowd of chanting Brazilian fans to win 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Published in Dawn, January 21, 2026
