When is the 2021 Australian Open draw? Start time, date, schedule and more
Melbourne Park will host the first Grand Slam of the year, with a restricted crowd due to the coronavirus pandemic
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Your support makes all the difference.The Australian Open draw takes place this week, days before the main tournament which is scheduled to get under way on Monday.
Melbourne Park will host the first Grand Slam of the year, with a restricted crowd due to the coronavirus pandemic.
There will also be a revised timetable of tournaments ahead of the Open, with two ATP 250s and the team-based ATP Cup all taking place in Melbourne the week before the Grand Slam.
Last year saw Novak Djokovic take the win over Dominic Thiem, while Sofia Kenin won her first Grand Slam singles title after three sets against Garbine Muguruza.
Joe Sailsbury and Rajeev Ram took the men’s doubles crown, as Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic won the female equivalent.
When is the Australian Open main draw?
The 2021 Australian Open draw was due to take place on Thursday 4 February, but the event has now been postponed until Friday after testing began on Thursday morning after the detection of a Covid-19 case in a hotel worker at one of the grand slam’s designated quarantine hotels. Play was also postponed on Thursday in the the six warm-up tournaments being contested at Melbourne Park.
What time does it start?
The draw was set to get under way at around 6pm in Australian, which will be 7am GMT in the UK on Thursday, but instead it is now set to begin at any time between 3am and 4am GMT.
Who is playing?
Men’s Singles:
The men’s singles tournament will see some of the world’s best playing, including World No.1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic, World No.2 Rafael Nadal, 2020 US Open winner Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Only Roger Federer will not be playing from the top 15 in the world.
Andy Murray had to pull out of the tournament after he tested positive for coronavirus, but the current British No.1 Dan Evans will be competing.
Women’s Singles:
World No.1 Ashleigh Barty leads the women’s singles tournament, alongside World No.2 Simona Halep, defending champion Sofia Kenin, 2020 US Open winner Naomi Osaka, Aryna Sabalenka, Elina Svitolina, and Karolina Pliskova.
Serena Williams will be looking for a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title by winning an eighth Australian Open, while 2020 French Open winner Iga Swiatek and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka will also be taking part.
Current British No.1 Johanna Konta will be competing as 13th seed.
Kiki Bertens is the only player from the world’s top 15 to not compete due to a foot injury.
Men’s Doubles:
Colombian World No.1 and 2 doubles players Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal headline the men’s doubles tournaments, with no.4 and 7 Croatian duo, Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic also competing. Pavic won last year’s US Open with Bruno Soares, who will be playing in this tournament with Jamie Murray.
The defending champions, Brit Joe Salisbury and American Rajeev Ram will be back with hopes to reclaim their title.
2020 French Open winners, German’s Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies will also be competing.
Women’s Doubles:
Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic will be hoping to defend their title from last year’s Australian Open. The duo went on to win the French Open later in the year.
Joining them will be World No.1 and no.2 Su-Wei Hsieh and Barbora Strycova, as well as 2019 US Open winners Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka, Samantha Stosur and Zhang Shuai, Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, and Gabriela Dabrowski and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
When are the matches?
8 February – Men’s and women’s singles first round
9 February – Men’s and women’s singles first round
10 February – Men’s and women’s singles second round
11 February – Men’s and women’s singles second round
12 February – Men’s and women’s singles third round
13 February – Men’s and women’s singles third round
14 February – Men’s and women’s singles fourth round
15 February – Men’s and women’s singles fourth round
16 February – Men’s and women’s singles quarter-finals
17 February – Men’s and women’s singles quarter-finals
18 February – Women’s semi-finals and first men’s semi-final
19 February – Second men’s semi-final
20 February – Women’s final
21 February – Men’s final
Odds
Men’s Singles
Novak Djokovic – 11/8
Rafael Nadal – 23/4
Dominic Thiem – 5/1
Daniil Medvedev – 11/2
Women’s Singles
Ashleigh Barty – 10/1
Simona Halep – 11/1
Naomi Osaka – 11/2
Aryna Sabalenka – 9/1
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