MELBOURNE: Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys made winning starts to their Australian Open title defences on Tuesday but former champion Naomi Osaka made the biggest splash on day three of the tournament with a dazzling entrance before her match.

Popular Frenchman Gael Monfils meanwhile bid farewell to Melbourne Park with an epic defeat and thanks for “an amazing ride”.

Sinner, who is aiming for a third straight title at Melbourne Park, spent only 68 minutes on Rod Laver Arena in his first outing of the 2026 season before Hugo Gaston retired because of injury while losing 6-2, 6-1.

The world number two consoled the weeping Frenchman and wished him well in his recovery before declaring himself delighted with the results of his off-season training.

“I was very happy,” said the Italian. “We put in a lot of work to be back on court and it felt great. Obviously not the way you want to win the match, but from my side I’m very happy to be back on court. I knew from the beginning that I had to play a very high level and was trying to be as aggressive as possible, which I’ve done.”

Sinner showed some signs of rust at the start and was forced to save three break points in his opening service game before finding his imperious touch.

Should he win three titles in a row in Melbourne, Sinner would join Novak Djokovic as the only men in the Open era to do so.

Melbourne Park’s favourite Frenchman of recent years, Monfils, was bundled out in the first round in a brave goodbye to a tournament he has lit up so many times down the years.

The 39-year-old, one of the most colourful and popular players in men’s tennis, battled all the way but Australian qualifier Dane Sweeny prevailed 6-7 (3/7), 7-5, 6-4, 7-5 in an epic lasting nearly four hours.

There was an on-court presentation and standing ovation afterwards for Monfils, who said: “My journey started in 2003 with you guys, now we are in 2026 and somehow it’s the finish line, but thank you so much for an amazing ride.”

Monfils, who has won 13 ATP titles in a career stretching back to 2004, said in October that this year would be his last in tennis.

American Keys admitted being “very nervous” as she launched her maiden Grand Slam title defence with a shaky 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 victory over Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova.

Keys stunned Aryna Sabalenka 12 months ago in a three-set classic to win her first major crown at the age of 29, but she failed to push on, winning no more titles in 2025.

A double break down thanks to some untimely double faults, Keys trailed 4-0 before forcing a tiebreak in which the unorthodox Oliynykova caused chaos with her deep, looping shots.

Oliynykova brought up two set points but Keys erased the deficit with some trademark big-hitting to eventually snatch a tense tiebreak before racing through the second stanza.

“I think at the start I just felt like I was playing just a little timid and not really trusting my first instinct,” said the ninth seed. “I felt like I kind of kept changing my mind on what I actually wanted to do. I felt like I was reacting instead of having a plan of what I wanted to do.”

Oliynykova, who was playing in her first major, wore temporary face tattoos — blue flowers that matched her outfit and the court — but she was put into the shade in the fashion stakes by Osaka.

JELLYFISH-INSPIRED

In one of the boldest fashion statements ever seen on a tennis court, Osaka entered Rod Laver Arena carrying a white parasol with a voluminous trailing veil and wore a wide-brimmed hat above a long turquoise tunic with crimped white trousers.

The 28-year-old from Japan is well known for her on- and off-court fashion statements. She waved regally to the crowd and the four-time Grand Slam champion then folded up the umbrella and neatly put the hat and veil to the side.

The 2019 and 2021 Melbourne Park champion’s tennis was at times less impressive than her self-designed outfit but Osaka finished strongly to beat Croatian Antonia Ruzic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 and take her place in the second round.

“It’s modelled after a jellyfish,” she said of her get-up. “I’m just so grateful that I get to be able to do the things that I love. It’s really beautiful.”

Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open runner-up, was not so fortunate and exited with a 6-2, 7-6 (7/1) loss to Janice Tjen, who became the first Indonesian to win a match at the Australian Open in 28 years.

Tjen, who this time last year was ranked 413 but is now the world number 59, is the first Indonesian to win a match at the major since Yayuk Basuki in 1998.

There were comfortable first-round wins for fifth seed Elena Rybakina, in-form Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Belinda Bencic and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.

Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion who had to qualify the season-opening major, lost to Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (9/7), 6-2, while Tereza Valentova beat Australia’s Maya Joint in straight sets.

TSITSIPAS RALLIES

In the men’s draw, 2023 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas had to rally from a set down to beat Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki and avoid a first-round exit for the second year in a row.

Sinner’s compatriot Lorenzo Musetti, the fifth seed, also advanced after his Belgian opponent Raphael Collignon retired in the fourth set.

Eighth seed Ben Shelton, who lost to Sinner in last year’s semi-finals, beat Ugo Humbert in three tight sets while his fellow American Taylor Fritz, seeded one spot lower, needed four to get past French opposition in the shape of Valentin Royer.

But Brazilian 19-year-old Joao Fonseca, touted on the eve of the tournament by Roger Federer as a star of the future, was dumped out by Eliot Spizzirri at the first hurdle.

The American defied the crowd of chanting Brazilian fans to win 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2026

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