Alex De Minaur defeated Hamad Medjedovic 6–7, 6–2, 6–2, 6–1 in the first round of the Australian Open on hard court on 21 January 2026. De Minaur, the clear pre-match favourite at odds of 1.14, recovered from a tiebreak loss in the opening set to dominate the remaining three, breaking Medjedovic's resistance with increasingly commanding tennis. The Serbian qualifier, priced at 5.5, offered little resistance after the opening frame, with De Minaur's efficiency evident in the rapidly improving scorelines across sets two through four. The result underscores De Minaur's home-court advantage and current form heading into the tournament's early rounds.