Tennis superstars Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic chasing rare air at Australian Open

Belarusian powerhouse Aryna Sabalenka takes her first steps into rare air when the Australian Open starts on Sunday.

Sabalenka begins her quest for a third consecutive Melbourne tournament title with plenty of subplots.

Five Australians will play singles matches on the opening day: Aleksandar Vukic, Adam Walton, Li Tu, Omar Jasika and Daria Saville.

The contingent steps out for Sabalenka’s first-round match on Sunday against former US Open champion Sloane Stephens.

If Sabalenka lifts the trophy again, she will join Melbourne greats Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Monica Seles, Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis as three-time consecutive winners.

“I know I have the opportunity to join legends by winning three in a row… I don’t want to think about that too much, I just want to do my job,” Sabalenka said.

If Sabalenka lifts the trophy again, she will join greats Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Monica Seles, Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis as three-time winners in a row

In the men’s game, Novak Djokovic hopes to turn back the clock and become the first tennis player to win 25 major singles titles.

Djokovic, chasing a record-extending 11th title in Melbourne, and Australian legend Court have both won 24 majors.

And Djokovic has turned to an unlikely coaching source for an edge: ex-rival Andy Murray.

“He was always one of my biggest rivals, we always hid things from each other,” Djokovic said.

‘Now all the cards are face up on the table.’

One more victory and the 37-year-old Djokovic becomes only the third man to win 100 titles at tour level: Jimmy Connors won 109, Roger Federer 103.

But the Serbian megastar comes in as the seventh seed, a sign of the winds of change blowing through the upper echelon.

World number 1 Jannik Sinner and Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz shared the majors last year, winning two each.

The 23-year-old Sinner returns to Melbourne as defending champion and under a drug cloud: last year he tested positive twice for traces of an anabolic steroid.

Novak Djokovic hopes to become the first tennis player to win 25 major singles titles

Djokovic will be chasing a record-extending 11th title in Melbourne in 2025

The Italian blamed exposure to a banned substance through a massage from his trainer and was acquitted, but an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency will be heard in mid-April.

‘I didn’t do anything wrong. That’s why I’m still here,” Sinner said ahead of a tournament where Alex de Minaur will once again harbor local hopes.

World number 8 De Minaur will enter his ‘bubble’ to shut out the hype that he could become the first Australian man to win the Open since Mark Edmondson in 1976.

“Over the years there’s obviously been a little more talk or more hype behind me,” he said.

‘There will always be a lot of outside noise, but I’m lucky to have a great team around me, we can concentrate on our own little bubble.’

Alexei Popyrin looms as Australia’s other sneaky chance to produce a deep run, although Nick Kyrgios’ comeback will dominate Monday.

In his first grand slam since the 2022 US Open, Kyrgios withdrew from an exhibition match with Djokovic on Thursday evening due to stomach pain