Refreshed Zheng eyes maiden Grand Slam title at Australian Open, Sinner favored in men's singles

Refreshed and motivated, Chinese tennis star Zheng Qinwen is hoping to go one better at the Australian Open and win her maiden Grand Slam singles title.

Men's defending champion Jannik Sinner has avoided rivals Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, a 10-time tournament champion, in his half of the draw.

There are 11 Chinese players in the main draw, but most of the attention will be focused on Zheng, who is the country's only seeded player. The 22-year-old has been seeded fifth in the women's draw for the season-opening Grand Slam starting on January 12 in Melbourne.

Zheng's breakout 2024 season started at Melbourne Park, where she stole the show with a barnstorming run to the final that ended in defeat to current world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Her rise to global stardom, with fans warming to her aggressive style and affable demeanor, continued after Zheng memorably won the gold medal in the women's singles at the Paris Olympics.

It was a triumph that cemented her standing as the best player from China since Li Na, the idol of Zheng who has successfully emulated her powerful forehand.

She finished the year by making the decider of the season-ending WTA Finals, losing to American Coco Gauff in a three-set thriller, and has not played since.

Zheng withdrew from China's squad at the mixed team United Cup, prioritizing rest ahead of the Australian Open. She plays Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni in the first round.

Zheng could face compatriot Yuan Yue, ranked 51st, in the third round before a showdown with Sabalenka looms in the quarterfinals.

Former US Open champion Gauff, in fine form having successfully spearheaded the United States to the United Cup title, is also in the top half of the draw.

Yuan faces 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the first round, while 37th-ranked Wang Xinyu will meet Spanish 11th seed Paula Badosa.

Sabalenka, also victorious at last year's US Open, will start as the favorite as she aims to become the first woman since Martina Hingis to win three consecutive titles at the Australian Open.

But she has a potentially tricky first round match against 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek enters the tournament under plenty of scrutiny having recently returned from her one-month suspension for testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine.

Swiatek has never won the Australian Open, with her best finish being a semifinal run in 2022, and she started her preparation by leading Poland to the final at the United Cup.

But Swiatek looked physically exhausted during her straight-set loss to Gauff last Sunday. Swiatek, however, has been handed a good draw and begins her tournament against Katerina Siniakova, the world's No. 1 doubles player.

Similarly to Swiatek, men's No. 1 Sinner has been shrouded under a doping cloud after he twice tested positive last year for traces of the steroid clostebol.

The Italian had a dominant 2024, where he also won the US Open and ATP Finals titles.

He faces Chilean Nicolas Jarry in the first round while Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas, Australia's leading player Alex de Minaur and Daniil Medvedev, who he beat in last year's final, are in his bracket.

Sinner's main threats to his title defense are arguably four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz and Djokovic, who are on a quarterfinal collision course.

Third seed Alcaraz is hoping to win an elusive Australian Open title and become the youngest men's player to complete the slate of Grand Slam trophies. The Spaniard begins his campaign against 72nd-ranked Alexander Shevchenko.

Djokovic is looking to overtake Australian women's tennis legend Margaret Court and win a record 25th major title. He will return to his favored Rod Laver Arena, the site of so many of his famous triumphs.

But the 37-year-old Djokovic faces a tough task to win his first Grand Slam since the 2023 US Open. Seeded seventh, his lowest in Melbourne since 2018, Djokovic starts his campaign against American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy.

Second seed Alexander Zverev is on the same side of the draw with Djokovic and Alcaraz as he bids for a maiden Grand Slam trophy.

Zhang Zhizhen, China's top ranked male player at No. 47, plays Danish 13th seed Holger Rune in an intriguing first round clash.

Rising Chinese tennis star Shang Juncheng will return to the scene of his breakout having reached the third round of last year's tournament.

The 19-year-old will face Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first round.