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Jannik Sinner will face James Duckworth in the second round of the Australian Open Thursday at 3 a.m. ET. Sinner is looking for a treble at the Australian Open and would join Novak Djokovic as the only men’s tennis players to do so.
The reason for the awkward timing is the time difference. Melbourne, Australia is 16 hours ahead of Eastern time, which means the match kicks off at 7pm local time.
Sinner vs. Duckworth will be televised on ESPN2 and streamed live fuboTV (free trial).
What: Australian Open, men’s singles second round
WHO: No. 2 Jannik Sinner vs. James Duckworth
When: Thursday, January 22, 2026
Where: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia
Time: 3:00 a.m. ET
TV: ESPN2, ESPN Sports
Live Streams: fuboTV (free trial), DIRECTV (Free Trial), ESPN+
Here’s a recent tennis story via the Associated Press:
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Two sets and just over an hour of tennis wasn’t what Jannik Sinner wanted at Rod Laver Arena at the start of his three-peat Australian Open bid.
In his first competitive match since beating Carlos Alcaraz at the ATP Finals in November, Sinner was leading 6-2, 6-1 when No. 93 Hugo Gaston suddenly withdrew from the match on Tuesday night with an undisclosed injury.
“I could see he wasn’t serving at a very high pace,” Sinner said, but “that’s not the way you want to win a match.”
After giving Gaston the sign that he must stop, he walked over to the judgment seat and put his head in his hands. Sinner went to comfort him, putting his hand on the Frenchman’s shoulder and wishing him a speedy recovery.
It was an anticlimactic return to Melbourne Park’s main arena for Sinner 12 months after securing back-to-back Australian titles with victory over Alexander Zverev in the final.
He and Alcaraz played in the finals of three more majors, winning at Wimbledon and finishing as runners-up at Roland Garros and the US Open as the so-called Sincaraz rivals extended their Grand Slam dominance for a second full year.
However, Sinner will not be satisfied with splitting the titles with Alcaraz either. He used his time off to focus on tweaking his service motion and tweaking other parts of his game in search of incremental improvements.
“I spent many, many long days in the off-season trying to become a better tennis player,” said the second-ranked Sinner. “But at the end of the day, the most important thing is to go on the court and enjoy it, isn’t it? It’s very special to start the season with a night match here at a Grand Slam, in a packed stadium, and try to do your best.”
Sinner is looking to become the fourth player to win three straight men’s titles at the Australian Open.
Osaka’s fashion statement
Wearing a wide-brimmed hat, veil and holding a white parasol, Naomi Osaka made a grand entrance as she walked into Rod Laver Arena for the final match of the night.
The four-time major winner defeated Antonia Ruzic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 and later explained the inspiration for her design.
“It’s modeled after a jellyfish,” Osaka said. “I’m so grateful to be able to do the things I love.
Key opener
Madison Keys had a tough start to her title defense, struggling early against the unconventional style of Oleksandra Oliynyk before advancing 7-6 (6), 6-1.
Ninth seed Keys, playing in her 50th Grand Slam tournament, was trailing 4-0 before finding her rhythm.
“Obviously I was very nervous at the beginning,” Keys said. “As nervous as I was … I’m really glad to be back and to get through that match.
Oliynyk’s unorthodox shooting and strong defense kept Keys off balance in the first set.
“I feel like it made everything a little more complicated,” Keys said. “I felt like I really found my game at the end of the tiebreak and then I was able to carry that into the second set.
Oliynyk gained a lot of attention for her unique body art and ink and printed message for Ukraine on the T-shirt she wore at the post-match press conference.
No. 5 Elena Rybakina and No. 10 Belinda Bencic advanced in straight sets, but the two seeded women were eliminated in straight sets at the start of Day 3, with Janice Tjen upsetting 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez and Teresa Valent beating Australia’s Maya Joint.
Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion who had to qualify for the opening major of the season, lost to Karolina Plíšková 7-6 (7), 6-2.
Shelton advances
In the left-handed match, Ben Shelton, a semi-finalist a year ago in Australia, defeated Ugo Humberto 6-3, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5).
Shelton said it was one of the toughest first-round matchups he’s faced, with Humbert, at No. 33, the highest ranked of the unseeded players.
He next faces Australian qualifier Dan Sweeny, who ended the 20th and final Australian Open campaign for 39-year-old Gael Monfils.
Also advancing were No. 5 Lorenzo Musetti, No. 9 Taylor Fritz, 2023 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas and Eliot Spizzirri, who beat 19-year-old Joao Fonseca 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Can I bet on the game?
Yes, you can bet on the game from your phone in New York State, and we’ve rounded up some of the best introductory offers to help you navigate your first bets from BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Bet365 and others.
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