Swiatek will open the festivities against American Sofia Kenin. The American, 41st player in the world, eliminated in the first round in Brisbane and the second in Hobart during her two preparation tournaments, should not pose too much difficulty for the Pole.
Alcaraz should also get rid of Frenchman Richard Gasquet quite easily: one of the oldest players on the circuit, at 37, has fallen to 155th in the world after his defeat last week in the first round in Auckland, a tournament that he won last year. Even if he arrives in Melbourne without any preparation tournament, Alcaraz, 20 years old, has a margin of safety over Gasquet.
The 1573 Arena will be the scene of the return of Angelique Kerber. At 35, the German, triple winner of Grand Slam tournaments including the Australian Open in 2016, returns almost a year after giving birth to a daughter, Liana. Today ranked above 600th place in the world, she will face the American Danielle Collins (62nd), finalist in Melbourne in 2022.
The program of the main matches of the second day on Monday (from 11:00 a.m. local, 1:00 a.m. in Paris):
Rod Laver Arena (from 12 p.m.; 2 hours in France)
Iga Swiatek (POL/tête de série N.1) – Sofia Kenin (USA)Holger Rune (DAN/N.8) – Yoshito Nishioka (JPN)
(from 7 p.m.; 9 a.m. in France) Elena Rybakina (KAZ/N/3) – Karolina Pliskova (CZE) Richard Gasquet (FRA) – Carlos Alcaraz (ESP/N.2)
Margaret Court Arena (from 12:00 p.m.)
Albert Ramos (ESP) – Casper Ruud (NOR/N.11)Camilio Giorgi (ITA) – Victoria Azarenka (BLR/N.18)
(from 7 p.m.; 9 a.m. in France)Alexander Zverev (GER/N.6) – Dominik Koepfer (GER) Rebecca Marino (CAN/q) – Jessica Pegula (USA/N.5)
John Cain Arena
Sloane Stephens (USA) – Olivia Gadecki (AUS/wc)Grigor Dimitrov (BUL/N.13) – Marton Fucsovic (HUN)
KIA Arena
Peyton Stearns (USA) – Daria Kasatskina (RUS/N.14) Tommy Paul (USA/N.14) – Gregory Barrera (FRA) Zheng Qinwen (CHN/N.12) – Ashlyn Krueger (USA)
