MELBOURNE, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The first round of the Australian Open continues on Tuesday with Jannik Sinner getting his 'three-peat' bid underway against Hugo Gaston, while Madison Keys takes on Oleksandra Oliynykova as she begins the defence of her first Grand Slam title.
TOP MEN'S MATCH: SINNER V GASTON
Sinner's last official match was more than two months ago when he beat Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP Finals title decider, but the Italian hopes having a longer off-season will continue to be a recipe for success in Melbourne.
After a roller-coaster 2025 season, during which he served a three-month suspension for doping, Sinner warmed up for the year's first major with an exhibition match against Alcaraz in South Korea, which he lost 7-5 7-6(8).
"In the past couple of years, I haven't played any official match before here because of the simple fact that I wanted to have a good off-season, a longer off-season to get ready for this season again," Sinner, seeded second in Melbourne, told reporters.
"Even if sometimes you play a tournament before, it can help you. But it also cannot help you because every situation and then the general feeling, especially in a Grand Slam, is different."
Frenchman Gaston lost in the qualifiers in Brisbane and the first round in Auckland in his build-up to the Australian Open.
TOP WOMEN'S MATCH: KEYS V OLIYNYKOVA
Keys did not have an easy path to the title last year, beating the top two seeds Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka along the way, and she hopes she does not have to go through as many three-setters this time.
The American was involved in four matches that went the distance last year, even saving a match point against Swiatek in the semi-final.
"You look back and it's kind of easy to be like, 'Wow, everything was amazing, I can't believe it'," she said.
"But also you think about, like, 'Wow, I almost lost. I was match point down'. So many three-set matches. There were some ugly matches."
Keys withdrew during the season-ending WTA Finals due to a viral illness and spent the off-season getting healthy and working on her game.
Oliynykova is making her Australian Open main draw debut.
FRITZ'S KNEE PUT TO THE TEST
Taylor Fritz will find out how his knee is shaping up after weeks of rehabilitation work as the ninth seed prepares to face Frenchman Valentin Royer.
The American did not have the best preparation for the Grand Slam, losing three of his four United Cup matches, while he lost a practice set 6-1 to Sinner in Melbourne despite showing flashes of brilliance.
Although the knee is "definitely improving", Fritz said it was the type of injury that takes two to four months of solid rehab to see improvements.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN ORDER OF PLAY ON TUESDAY
Here is the order of play on the main showcourts on the third day of the Australian Open (prefix number denotes seeding):
ROD LAVER ARENA
Day session (0030 GMT/1130 AEDT)
Oleksandra Oliynykova (Ukraine) v 9-Madison Keys (U.S.)
8-Ben Shelton (U.S.) v Ugo Humbert (France)
Night session (0800 GMT/1900 AEDT)
Hugo Gaston (France) v 2-Jannik Sinner (Italy)
16-Naomi Osaka (Japan) v Antonia Ruzic(Croatia)
MARGARET COURT ARENA
Day session (0030 GMT/1130 AEDT)
5-Lorenzo Musetti (Italy) v Raphael Collignon (Belgium)
5-Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) v Kaja Juvan (Slovenia)
Night session (0800 GMT/1900 AEDT)
Katie Boulter (Britain) v 10-Belinda Bencic (Switzerland)
Shintaro Mochizuki (Japan) v 31-Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece)
JOHN CAIN ARENA
Day session (0000 GMT/1100 AEDT)
Tereza Valentova(Czech Republic) v 30-Maya Joint (Australia)
15-Karen Khachanov (Russia) v Alex Michelsen (U.S.)
Night session (0600 GMT/1700 AEDT)
Valentin Royer (France) v 9-Taylor Fritz (U.S.)
Maddison Inglis (Australia) v Kimberly Birrell (Australia)
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
