The 2026 ATP Australian Open reaches the round of 16 on January 25, featuring matchups between top players in Melbourne. Carlos Alcaraz takes on Tommy Paul, Alexander Zverev faces Francisco Cerundolo, Alexander Bublik challenges Alex de Minaur, and Daniil Medvedev meets Learner Tien. These encounters highlight strong recent form and competitive head-to-head records.
The round of 16 at the 2026 Australian Open promises intense competition on the hard courts of Melbourne. Starting with Carlos Alcaraz versus Tommy Paul, scheduled for 03:30 CEST on January 25. Alcaraz, with a 5-2 head-to-head edge, has won five straight matches, including straight-sets victories over Walton, Hanfmann, and Moutet this week. He conceded just one breakpoint against Walton and rallied from 1-3 down against Hanfmann. However, Alcaraz has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals here, falling to Novak Djokovic in four sets last year.
Paul, riding four wins in his last five, has also impressed. He beat Kovacevic without facing a breakpoint, defeated Tirante while saving four breakpoints, and led when Alejandro Davidovich Fokina retired after two sets at 6-1, 6-1.
Later at 07:00 CEST, Alexander Zverev (2-3 head-to-head) meets Francisco Cerundolo. Zverev, a finalist last year where he lost straight sets to Jannik Sinner, has four wins in five, overcoming Diallo, Muller, and Norrie in four sets each, rallying from early deficits.
Cerundolo mirrors that form with four wins in five, dominating Zhang and Dzumhur in straight sets—trailing briefly but turning matches around—and upsetting Andrey Rublev in the third round, saving two of three breakpoints despite a 0-2 third-set lag.
At 09:00 CEST, Alexander Bublik (2-3 head-to-head) faces home favorite Alex de Minaur. Bublik, now a top-10 player, won four of five, beating Brooksby, Fucsovics (from 2-5 in the third), and Etcheverry in straight sets. De Minaur, with five straight wins, dispatched McDonald and Tiafoe easily, rallying past Medjedovic after dropping the first set 6-7.
Finally, at 06:00 CEST, Daniil Medvedev (1-2 head-to-head) plays Learner Tien. Medvedev's eight-match streak includes comebacks against Halys and Marozsan from 0-2 down. Tien, four of five wins, grinded past Giron in five and Shevchenko in four before straight-setting Borges from 3-5 in the first.
These matches underscore the tournament's depth, with players drawing on recent momentum and past encounters.
