Jannik Sinner began his 2026 Australian Open campaign by defeating Hugo Gaston on Tuesday.
Sinner, the two-time defending Australian Open champion, was leading Gaston 6-2, 6-1 when the French player was forced to retire due to injury.
As a result, Sinner has advanced to the second round, where he will face James Duckworth.
Sinner, who made a technical change ahead of his first match in Australia, will hope his good form continues as he looks to prevent Carlos Alcaraz from achieving the ‘Career Grand Slam.’
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After defeating Gaston, Sinner achieved something his Spanish rival is yet to match.
Jannik Sinner has won 15 consecutive Australian Open Men’s Singles matches
Jannik Sinner continues to make history, even in the first round of Grand Slam events.
As reported by statisticians OptaAce, Sinner is only the fourth player since 2000 to register 15 consecutive wins in Men’s Singles at the Australian Open.
The other three players to do so are Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Agassi won 26 consecutive matches between 2000 and 2004. Agassi won titles in 2000 and 2001, missed the 2002 event, before returning to win the 2003 event. A year later, he reached the semi-finals, before losing to Marat Safin.
Federer’s longest streak in Australia occurred between 2006 and 2008. Federer won 19 consecutive matches, winning the title in 2006 and 2007 before losing in the 2008 semi-finals to Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic leads all players, having won 33 consecutive matches between 2019 and 2024. Djokovic won three consecutive titles between 2019 and 2021, before missing the 2022 event.
He then won his 10th Australian Open title upon his return to the tournament in 2023, before reaching the semi-finals in 2024; losing to Jannik Sinner.
Jannik Sinner’s record against James Duckworth
Sinner holds a 2-1 record against Australian player James Duckworth, who defeated Dino Prizmic 7-6, 3-6, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Tuesday.
Sinner first played Duckworth at the 2020 Cologne Open, defeating the Australian 6-1, 6-2. A year later, Duckworth had his revenge, beating Sinner 6-3, 6-4 at the Canadian Open.
Sinner won their last contest, defeating Duckworth 7-6, 6-4 at the 2021 Sofia Open in Bulgaria.
Who do you think will retire with more Grand Slam titles?
If Sinner defeats Duckworth, he will play Eliot Spizzirri or Yibing Wu in the third round.
In the fourth round, he could play Sebastien Baez; the in-form player on the ATP Tour.
