FILE - Italy’s Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor during the Davis Cup final tennis match between Netherlands and Italy at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)

Jannik Sinner will open his campaign against Nicholas Jarry, and Novak Djokovic will face Indian-origin American player Nishesh Basavareddy in his opener.

Jannik Sinner will launch his Australian Open title defence under a stubborn doping cloud but the whiff of scandal may do little to halt the Italian juggernaut.

Defending champion Jannik Sinner and 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic have landed in opposite sides of the draw for the season’s first major, ruling out a replay of last year’s semifinal encounter.

Novak Djokovic says Nick Kyrgios has 'spoken well' about Jannik Sinner 's doping case after the Aussie labelled the scandal 'disgusting' for tennis.

Though a doping investigation cast a shadow over the middle part of Jannik Sinner's season and the World Anti-Doping Agency is appealing the verdict of no wrongdoing in that case, 2024 was Sinner's ye

No one will be able to underestimate Novak Djokovic, who has won this tournament ten times and who will benefit from the valuable advice of a legend like Andy Murray. The Serbian champion will have less pressure than in the past and has shown that he can still be competitive at the highest level despite being almost 38 years old.

Djokovic was famously deported from Australia in 2022 and denied the chance to play the Melbourne Park grand slam due to his vaccination status. The 24-time grand slam champion was put in hotel detention for a numbers of days before his visa was cancelled and he was kicked out of the country.

Nick Kyrgios appreciated very much Novak Djokovic siding with him and highlighting that some of the Australian's comments about the Jannik Sinner doping case make sense. The 29-year-old's criticism of the handling of the Italian's case is well-documented and there is no need to say much about that.