Defending champions Sinner and Keys on court, Fritz tests knee

MELBOURNE, Jan 19 : 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