Australian Open 2024: Schedule, draw, how to watch, seeds, notable first round matches

The Grand Slam season has officially kicked off with the 2024 Australian Open. Rafael Nadal withdrew due to injury, but most of the other stars are competing in Melbourne. This year's tournament is a day longer in the hopes of preventing matches from going too late into the night. Defending champion Novak Djokovic, who has won this tournament 10 times, will be looking to extend his record.

He won three out of four majors last year, and was just one set away from winning Wimbledon against Carlos Alcaraz. Taking home the 2023 US Open trophy helped Djokovic make history with his 24th Grand Slam title, which for the most major singles titles ever. Djokovic, who said he has been "a bit under the weather," played the longest first round Grand Slam match of his career against 18 year old Dino Prizmic.

The battle took four hours and one minute before Djokovic won, 6 2 6 7 (5 7) 6 3 6 4. In last year's Australian Open, Djokovic beat Stefano Tsitsipas in three sets for the men's singles title. Tsitsipas has yet to win a Grand Slam, but he also made it to the French Open final in 2021. He is entering the tournament as the No.

7 seed. His first round match was supposed to be against Matteo Berrettini, but the 2021 Wimbledon runner up had to withdraw because of a foot injury. Instead, Tsitsipas will be playing against Zizou Bergs. Besides Djokovic, the other most recent Australian Open winner is Nadal, who suffered an injury in the second round of this tournament in 2023 and had to sit out the rest of the year.

He is expected to retire at the end of the 2024 season. The 22 time Grand Slam champion was getting ready to compete at Melbourne before on his hip while playing in the Brisbane International quarterfinals last week. Fortunately, Nadal said the injury isn't in the area of his hip where he got surgery last year.

If his recovery goes well, he should be able to compete in the French Open in May. Another notable absence is Australian star Nick Kyrgios, who is missing his second consecutive Australian Open due to ongoing injuries. He has not publicly discussed a timeline for his return. On the women's side, Aryna Sabalenka won last year's trophy against Elena Rybakina.

She is off to a solid start, as she collected a dominant 6 0, 6 1 win over Ella Seidel. Sabalenka and Rybakina recently met in the Brisbane International final, with Rybakina winning in two sets. They are both back and ready to give top seeded Iga Swiatek a run for her money in Melbourne. Swiatek's best Australian Open run was in 2022, when she made the semifinals.

Naomi Osaka, who missed most of last season because of pregnancy, will be competing in her first major tournament since the 2022 US Open. The former world No. 1 gave birth in July and is ready to compete at this level again. Here is all you need to know about the 2024 US Open:.