The world No. 1 begins his quest for a second Australian Open crown when he takes on Boliva’s Hugo Dellien, the world No. 72, in the third match of the morning session at the Rod Laver Arena.
Nadal has reached at least the quarterfinals in 11 of his last 12 appearances in Melbourne, but his only triumph in the first Grand Slam tournament of the season came 11 years ago, when he defeated Roger Federer in an epic five-set match.
The Spaniard has led his nation to the final of the inaugural ATP Cup last week and suggested preparation had been relatively smooth ahead of his first round encounter.
“I am practising I think more or less okay. Just two more days of practice [remain for me],” Nadal said at his press conference on Saturday. “Let’s try to keep going with the right intensity and with the right feelings. Hopefully I will be ready for Tuesday.”
Dellien makes his main draw debut in Melbourne on Tuesday but arrives at the Australian Open after winning a career-high 12 tour-level matches last year.
Aside from Nadal, a number of high-profile players are in action on Tuesday, with Medvedev taking on the U.S.’ Frances Tiafoe in the first match of the evening session at the Rod Laver Arena.
The Russian, who reached a maiden Grand Slam final at the U.S. Open last year, relishes the chance of going up against Tiafoe, a quarterfinalist in Melbourne a year ago.
“It’s a great matchup,” he said. “He was in the quarters here last year, again [he will be] super motivated. But I think it’s going to be a great match. Of course, I want to do my best to win it. Hopefully I can show some good tennis. [Playing] like this, I’m going to have my chances.”
World No. 23 Kyrgios takes on Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego, while world No. 10 Gael Monfils and world No. 11 David Goffin face Yen-Hsun Lu and Jeremy Chardy respectively.
Among the women, world No. 2 Karolina Pliskova, a semifinalist in Melbourne 12 months ago, takes on France’s Kristina Mladenovic in the day’s opening encounter.
No. 6 Belinda Bencic plays Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, while world No. 4 Simona Halep takes on Jennifer Brady of the U.S.
Here’s everything you need to know to keep up with first-round action.
First round start time
The second day of the first round of the Australian Open gets underway at 11 a.m. local time on Tuesday morning. However, because of the 16-hour difference between Melbourne and the east coast of the U.S., that means matches get underway at 7 p.m. ET on Monday evening.
World No. 2 Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic gets proceedings underway at the Rod Laver Arena when she takes on France’s Kristina Mladenovic at 11 a.m. local time, with a total of 14 matches scheduled across the various courts.
TV channel
The Australian Open is broadcast exclusively across ESPN channels, with ESPN2 carrying the bulk of the tournament. Coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET on Monday and runs until 7 a.m. on Tuesday.
Live stream
Fans can watch the action online via the WatchESPN app and on ESPN.com.
First round full schedule
Five-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova takes on World No. 20 Donna Vekic of Croatia in the day’s second game at the Rod Laver Arena, before World No. 1 Rafael Nadal takes on Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien.
No. 6 Belinda Bencic plays Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the day’s first game on the Margaret Court Arena, followed by world No. 5 Dominic Thiem taking on France’s Adrian Mannarino.
Britain’s top seed and world No. 13 Johanna Konta takes on Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, while 2014 Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka plays Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur, the world No. 92.
American interest, meanwhile, will focus on no. 10 seed Madison Keys, who faces Russia’s Daria Kasatkina in the day’s second match at the Melbourne Arena and on qualifier Shelby Rogers, who plays Spain’s Garbine Muguruza.
World No. 4 Daniil Medvedev opens the night session at the Rod Laver Arena when he faces the U.S.’ Frances Tiafoe, while fellow American Jennifer Brady faces world No. 4 Simona Halep in the opening match of the night session at the Margaret Court Arena.
Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, world No. 10 Gael Monfils and world No. 11 David Goffin are also all in action on Tuesday.
The complete first round schedule can be found here.
Australian Open odds
According to Oddschecker, Novak Djokovic is a 6/5 favorite to defend the title he won 12 months ago, followed by world No. 1 Rafael Nadal at 5/1. Behind the duo, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev and Roger Federer are 9/1 and 12/1 shots respectively.
Among the women, meanwhile, Serena Williams is a 17/4 favorite to add an eighth Australian Open crown to her trophy cabinet, followed by world No. 1 and local favorite Ashleigh Barty and defending champion Naomi Osaka at 8/1.
