(Vancouver) Ben Shelton, Francisco Cerundolo, Félix Auger-Aliassime and the duo of Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe won the first four matches of the Laver Cup tournament on Friday, giving Team World a 4-0 lead against ‘Team Europe.
At the start of the evening program, Auger-Aliassime had the best 6-4, 6-3 over Frenchman Gaël Monfils, increasing his team’s lead to 3-0 against Team Europe.
Auger-Aliassime and Monfils also faced each other at the Laver Cup three years ago.
Shelton beat Arthur Fils 7-6 (4), 6-1 in the first match, and Cerundolo then beat Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina 6-3, 7-5.
PHOTO DARRYL DYCK, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Ben Shelton
Shelton won 85% of his points in first serves and made both service breaks of the match in the second set.
Aged 19, Fils played his first match at the Laver Cup. The Frenchman led 4-1 in the tiebreaker, before seeing his opponent take the set with six points in a row.
Shelton then continued the momentum, breaking Son’s serve early in the second set to make it 3-1.
Cerundolo had four aces. His serve was very useful to him in the victory, even if he sometimes had difficulty ending the match.
In doubles, Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe of Team World defeated Fils and Andrey Rublev of Team Europe (6-3, 4-6, 10-6) to conclude the day on Friday.
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
night of January 18 Australian Open 2026 starts main draw fights.
Especially on Sunday, three teams will play their matches in the 1/64 final. ukrainian women: Elina Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk and Dayana Yastremskaya. Yulia Starodubtseva will hold her first round meeting on Monday, while Angelina Kalinina and Alexandra Oleynikova will hold their first round meeting on Tuesday.
Before the start of the Australian Open, bookmakers also evaluated the chances of the Ukrainians by updating the prices of the tournament favorites. For this reason, Kostyuk closed the top 10 candidates For the cup according to betting companies – 30.60.
Svitolina’s chances are estimated at 64.85. Quotations for Yastremskaya, Kalinina and Oleynikova are above 350.00.
Bookmakers see world number one and current champion Aryna Sabalenka as the main favorite for the Australian major – 2.73. Also in the top 5 are Iga Swiatek (7.18), Elena Rybakina (8.14), Amanda Anisimova (10.83) and Klara Tauson (12.02).
Who will win the Australian Open 2026 cup? Bettors’ opinion
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina He spoke to reporters before the start of the Australian Open 2026:
About planning off-season workouts: “It’s really about finding the balance. I think over the years my coach, my team and I have found a few little tricks to help us get better. I’m very happy to be able to win in Auckland. It’s a good start, a strong start and hopefully I can use that as a foundation for the future.”
About the start of the Australian Open: “The first round of the Grand Slam tournament is of course very difficult, everyone is as ready as possible and extremely motivated to play well. In the first major everyone wants to show what they have been working on in the off-season and that makes the tournament interesting. That’s why we will see a lot of great matches. For me personally it is important to focus on one match at a time, not to look too far ahead, to recover well, to prepare physically and mentally, then I will have the chance to play at a high level.”
On his confident performance in the finals: “I have built this image and this mentality step by step over the years. It is important. Of course there are many matches to win before the final, but the final is very important and this is where you have to show your best performance in tennis. In moments like these you train and work for. So even if I cannot play my best tennis because of a lot of pressure and responsibility, I try to find my way in the most important moments and the little details that will help, at least fight and find a way to win.”
About joint training with her husband Gael Monfils: “I definitely get very intense training because he hits the ball very hard and hard and I have to react extremely quickly. I think it helps my game because now everyone is playing hard, everyone is putting in their shots. And training with him gives me the confidence that I’m ready for other speeds. For my part, I’m teaching him the backhand down the line, I can say that’s my best shot. And now he tells me that’s why his backhand down the line has improved (laughs).
On Gael’s final season on Tour: “The energy the fans give is incredible. He really gets his energy from the spectators who come to watch the games and the training sessions. It gives a lot of joy. Of course there are some concerns because he wants to have a strong season. And I know he can do it, he has trained well. I was surprised how hard he worked on the field and in the gym this off-season. I see that he really wants to end his career on a positive note. And I am happy to be with him. Support him on this great journey and support him no matter what.”
In the first round of the Australian Open, Elina will play against Kristina Buksha. The meeting will begin on January 18 and will begin at approximately 04:30 Kyiv time.
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
(Melbourne) Novak Djokovic can still joke when he talks about the rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner which, for two years, has prevented him from becoming the most successful tennis player of all time.
“I lost three of the four Grand Slam tournaments against Sinner or Alcaraz in 2025,” he recalled on Saturday, on the eve of the first matches of the Australian Open.
“We don’t need to congratulate them too much,” he added with a smile. “They have already been praised enough! We know how good they are, and they absolutely deserve to be where they are. They are currently the dominant forces in men’s tennis. »
Djokovic begins third season in pursuit of 25e Grand Slam singles title and refined his approach for the Australian Open.
He withdrew from the only preparatory tournament in which he had planned to participate, knowing that he lacks “a little juice in his legs” to compete with the two young stars at the end of the major tournaments and that he must remain as pain-free as possible.
PHOTO MARTIN KEEP, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Novak Djokovic
Djokovic found a way to beat longtime rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, to the point where the Serbian, now 38, has become an integral part of the “Big Three.” Then he surpassed them.
Winner of 24 major singles tournaments, a record in the professional era, and tied with Australian Margaret Court for the most singles victories in tennis history, Djokovic does everything to stay “in the fight”.
Djokovic won his last major title at the 2023 US Open. Since then, Sinner and Alcaraz have shared eight major singles titles.
Sinner has won the last two Australian titles. Alcaraz is in Australia, determined to add the Melbourne Park title to his tally to complete his career Grand Slam.
Despite injuries that hampered him, Djokovic reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments last year. A torn hamstring forced him to retire in the semifinals of the Australian Open, after he eliminated Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
PHOTO DAVID GRAY, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Novak Djokovic
Reminding himself that “24 is not a bad number,” Djokovic explained that he decided to abandon his “now or never mentality” when attending Grand Slam tournaments because it did not allow him to perform at his best.
Right now, [Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz play at a different level than everyone else. That’s a fact, but that doesn’t mean no one else has a chance.
Novak Djokovic
“So I always like my chances, in any tournament, especially here,” he added.
Ten-time Australian Open singles champion, Djokovic will play his first match Monday evening at Rod-Laver Arena against Spaniard Pedro Martinez, ranked 71e.
Seeded number 4, he is in the same half of the table as Sinner. This means they can only meet in the semi-finals here.
Physical condition
Djokovic has not played an official tournament since November.
“It’s obviously taken me longer to rebuild my body, because I understand that in the last two years, that’s what’s changed the most for me: it takes me more time to rebuild, and it also takes me more time to reset or recover,” he explained. “I had a little setback that prevented me from competing in the Adelaide tournament… but so far everything is going really well here. »
He added that he felt pain “here and there” every day.
“But overall I feel good and I’m looking forward to playing.” »
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
