France’s Hugo Gaston retires during his first round match against Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open 2026 tennis championship in Melbourne on January 20, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Jannik Sinner dropped just three games and spent little over an hour on Rod Laver Arena to get his bid for an Australian Open three-peat started.
The No. 2-ranked Sinner was leading 6-2, 6-1 when Hugo Gaston suddenly retired from their match with an undisclosed injury.
“I saw that he was not serving with a very high pace in the second set,” Sinner said, but “it’s not the way you want to win the match.”
It was an anti-climatic way to finish his first competitive match on the center court at Melbourne Park since his victory 12 months ago over Alexander Zverev to clinch back-to-back Australian titles.
He’s aiming to become the fourth player to win three consecutive men’s titles at the Australian Open.
Madison Keys had a tougher start to her title defense, struggling early against the offbeat style of Oleksandra Oliynykova before advancing 7-6 (6), 6-1.
Ninth-seeded Keys, playing in her 50th Grand Slam tournament, trailed 4-0 before she rallied to force a tiebreaker against the Ukrainian.
“Obviously I was very nervous at the start,” Keys said. “As nervous as I was . . . I’m really glad to be back, and that I got through that match.”
Published – January 20, 2026 04:11 pm IST
