Australian Open 2026 Day 3 Recap

Day three of the 2026 Australian Open noticed defending champion Jannik Sinner open his title defence with a routine win earlier than Hugo Gaston was compelled to retire, extending his Australian Open streak to fifteen straight victories.

Elsewhere, Ben Shelton held his nerve by two tight tiebreaks towards Ugo Humbert, Tomas Macháč produced probably the most convincing wins of the spherical by dismissing Grigor Dimitrov in straight units, and Lorenzo Musetti survived an early scare to edge previous qualifier Raphael Collignon. 

The notable losses on the day included seeded gamers Tallon Griekspoor and João Fonseca, each exiting sooner than anticipated. Whereas there have been additionally 5 five-setters, making it essentially the most aggressive of the opening 3 days, as Khachanov, Menšík, Baez, Basavareddy and Duckworth all progressed after going the space.

Day Three 2026 Australian Open Spherical of 128 Outcomes

Winner
Loser
Rating

Lorenzo Musetti (5)
Raphael Collignon
4-6 7-6(3) 7-5 3-2

Ben Shelton (8)
Ugo 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 Griekspoor (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

Vit Kopriva
Jan-Lennard Struff
4-6 6-2 2-6 6-3 6-1

Tomas Macháč
Grigor Dimitrov
6-4 6-4 6-3

Lorenzo Sonego
Carlos Taberner
6-4 6-0 6-3

Dane Sweeny
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 made brief work of France’s Hugo Gaston, racing by the primary two units earlier than Gaston retired with damage. This was his fifteenth straight win on the AO, and his fashion of tennis was all the time going to be an excessive amount of for Gaston. A fast, no-drama opener for the in simply over an hour of play.

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

Czech Tomas Machac pulled off a stable win, taking down Grigor Dimitrov in straight units with sturdy serving and baseline management.

This was a troublesome draw for each guys, and I wasn’t actually certain what to anticipate. Given their observe data, it wasn’t unthinkable that each retired mid-match 😂. 

Machac performed solidly, however Dimitrov appeared off-rhythm and probably low on confidence after a troublesome 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-tension battle of left-handers on Rod Laver Area, profitable in straight units however with two tight tiebreaks.

Shelton overcame a 3-0 deficit within the third-set breaker, and his serving below stress was spectacular towards a really powerful first-round opponent. I believed Humbert was able to an upset, however his W:L document in Grand Slams is method beneath par in comparison with what he’s achieved on the smaller occasions.

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

No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz navigated a difficult opener towards Frenchman Valentin Royer, dropping the second set however dominating the remaining with endurance and stable match play. I like Fritz’s temperament on court docket, and will probably be attention-grabbing to see how far he can go in Melbourne or if his knee stays an issue.

Different notable mentions are extra French struggles (Monfils out to dwelling favorite Dane Sweeny in 4, Mpetshi Perricard in 5 to Baez); large upsets like Eliot Spizzirri over Joao Fonseca (hampered by again points); and Hubert Hurkacz getting back from a set down vs. Zizou Bergs.

Australian Open 2026 Day 4 Spherical of 64 Matches