Australian Open 2026 Day 3 Summary

Day three of the 2026 Australian Open saw defending champion Jannik Sinner open his title defense with a routine victory before Hugo Gaston was forced to retire, extending his Australian Open streak to 15 straight victories.

Elsewhere, Ben Shelton held his nerve in two tight tiebreaks against Ugo Humbert, Tomas Macháč produced one of the round’s most convincing victories by dismissing Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets, and Lorenzo Musetti survived an early scare to edge past qualifier Raphael Collignon.

Notable losses on the day included seeded players Tallon Griekspoor and João Fonseca, who both exited earlier than expected. While there were also five five-setters, making it the most competitive of the first three days, as Khachanov, Menšík, Baez, Basavareddy and Duckworth all progressed after going the distance.

Day Three 2026 Australian Open Round of 128 Results

Winner	Loser	Do
Lorenzo Musetti (5)	Raphael Collignon	4-6 7-6(3) 7-5 3-2
Ben Shelton (8)	Hugo Humbert	6-3 7-6(2) 7-6(5)
Taylor Fritz (9)	Valentin Royer	7-6(5) 5-7 6-1 6-3
Karen Khachanov (15)	Alex Michelsen	4-6 6-4 6-3 5-7 6-3
Jakub Menšík (16)	Pablo Carreno Busta	7-5 4-6 2-6 7-6(1) 6-3
Luciano Darderi (22)	Cristian Garin	7-6(5) 7-5 7-6(3)
Ethan Quinn	Tallon Greek Spoor (23)	6-2 6-3 6-2
Eliot Spizzirri	João Fonseca (28)	6-4 2-6 6-1 6-2
Stefanos Tsitsipas (31)	Shintaro Mochizuki	4-6 6-3 6-2 6-2
Sebastian Baez	Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard	6-4 6-4 3-6 5-7 6-3
Nishesh Basavareddy	Christopher O’Connell	4-6 7-6(7) 6(3)-7 6-2 6-3
James Duckworth	Dino Prizmic	7-6(4) 3-6 1-6 7-5 6-3
Hubert Hurkacz	Zizou Bergs	6(6)-7 7-6(6) 6-3 6-3
Rafael Jodar	Rei Sakamoto	7-6(6) 6-1 5-7 4-6 6-3
White Nettle	Jan-Lennard Struff	4-6 6-2 2-6 6-3 6-1
Tomas Machac	Grigor Dimitrov	6-4 6-4 6-3
Lorenzo Sonego	Carlos Taberner	6-4 6-0 6-3
Dane Sweeney	Gaël Monfils	6(3)-7 7-5 6-4 7-5
Yibing Wu	Luca Nardi	7-5 4-6 6-4 6-2
Jannik Sinner (2)	Hugo Gaston	6-2 6-1 RET

Key matches

Jannik Sinner def. Hugo Gaston 6-2, 6-1 RET

Defending champion Jannik Sinner drew France’s Hugo Gaston, cruising through the first two sets before Gaston retired with injury. This was his 15th straight win at AO, and his style of tennis was always going to be too much for Gaston. A quick, no-drama opener for those in just over an hour of play.

Tomas Machac def. Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4, 6-3

Czech Tomas Machac pulled off a solid victory, taking down Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets with strong serving and baseline control.

This was a tough draw for both guys, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Given their track record, it was not inconceivable that both would withdraw in the middle of the match 😂.

Machac played solidly, but Dimitrov looked out of rhythm and possibly low on confidence after a tough 2025.

Ben Shelton def. Ugo Humbert 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(5)

American Ben Shelton edged out France’s Ugo Humbert in a high-stakes left-hander battle at Rod Laver Arena, winning in straight sets but with two tight tiebreaks.

Shelton overcame a 3-0 deficit in the third set breaker, and his serve under pressure was impressive against a very tough first-round opponent. I thought Humbert was capable of an upset, but his W:L record in Grand Slams is way below par compared to what he has achieved at the smaller events.

Taylor Fritz def. Valentin Royer 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-1, 6-3

no. 9 seed Taylor Fritz navigated a challenging opener against Frenchman Valentin Royer, dropping the second set but dominating the rest with patience and solid match play. I like Fritz’s temperament on the court, and it will be interesting to see how far he can go in Melbourne or if his knee is still an issue.

Other notable mentions are more French struggles (Monfils out to home favorite Dane Sweeny in fourth, Mpetshi Perricard in fifth to Baez); major upsets like Eliot Spizzirri over Joao Fonseca (hampered by back problems); and Hubert Hurkacz comes back from a set down against Zizou Bergs.