With the New Year now ushered in, all roads lead to the Land Down Under as the 2026 Australian Open nears. And the upcoming Melbourne showdown will be a huge occasion for one player in particular: Jannik Sinner.
The Italian world number two looks to make history on his next trip Down Under as he aims to become just the second man in the Open Era to win three straight Men’s Singles titles after back-to-back triumphs in 2024 and 2025. The first time around, Sinner upset the odds to hand Novak Djokovic his first defeat in five years in Melbourne, beating the Serbian sensation in the semifinals before defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final. Last year, he successfully defended his crown after beating Alexander Zverev.
With the 2026 edition fast approaching, online betting sites make Sinner an odds-on favorite to complete the three-peat. The latest odds from the popular Lucky Rebel sportsbook list the Italian as a 19/20 frontrunner to secure his place in the history books, with arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz considered the most likely to end the dream at odds of 6/4.
Throughout the Open Era, plenty of men have claimed back-to-back titles and attempted the three-peat, ten of them in fact. Only one was successful. Let’s take a look at the two most recent attempts and, more specifically, how they fared.
Djokovic Buries Medvedev’s Dream Run
Novak Djokovic headed into the 2021 Australian Open as the reigning back-to-back champion, having beaten rival Rafael Nadal in 2019 and underdog Dominic Thiem in 2020. Those two titles were the Serbian sensation’s seventh and eighth down under, and he was aiming to make it nine by completing the three-peat in 2021, a feat he had already achieved with three straight titles between 2011 and 2013.
Nole powered his way to the final for the third straight year, surviving scares against Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz before ultimately prevailing. But in the showpiece, he would face his sternest test yet, a clash with an on-fire Daniil Medvedev. The Russian had dropped just two sets en route to the final, reeling off 20 straight victories, as well as beating the Joker three times in their last four meetings.
The whispers around Melbourne Park suggested this might finally be the Russian’s moment—his game was clinical, his confidence sky-high, and Djokovic had looked mortal in patches throughout the fortnight. What inaccurate thoughts they turned out to be.
Novak came out swinging like a man possessed, breaking immediately and racing into a 3-0 lead before Medvedev could process what was happening. The first set went 7-5 after Djokovic converted when it mattered most. Then? Absolute carnage. 6-2, 6-2, with Medvedev’s game unraveling in double quick time under pressure he’d never felt before.
The stat sheet told the whole story: Djokovic hammered seven break chances out of eleven while committing just 17 unforced errors to Medvedev’s 30. It wasn’t close. It wasn’t competitive after that opening set. Djokovic claimed his ninth Australian Open crown at a canter, sealing a second Australian Open three-peat in a decade in ruthless fashion.
Tsitsipas Ends Federer’s Late Career Renaissance
Roger Federer’s stunning return to form during the twilight of his career was a fitting end for one of the greatest to ever do it. The Swiss sensation claimed consecutive Australian Open titles in 2017 and 2018, sandwiching a record-breaking eighth Wimbledon title in between. The latter of those two straight titles in Melbourne made him the oldest man to ever win a Slam at the ripe old age of 36 years, 5 months, and 20 days.
In 2019, he aimed to roll back the years one last time to bring the curtain down on a glittering career that would stand the test of time. After breezing past Denis Istomin, Dan Evans, and Taylor Fritz without dropping a single set, a fourth-round clash against 20-year-old 14th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas should’ve been routine.
Except that first-set tiebreak went to 13-11, with the Greek kid saving three set points before Federer finally squeezed through. That should’ve broken him. Young players don’t recover from that kind of psychological beating in Grand Slam fourth rounds. Except Tsitsipas did. He roared back to life, took the second-set breaker 7-3, and suddenly Roger looked vulnerable in ways we hadn’t seen all tournament.
From the third onwards, Federer played scrappy tennis and looked every bit his 37 years of age. He committed 33 unforced errors off his forehand wing. Thirty-three. His weapon—the shot that’s won him twenty majors—betrayed him at the worst possible moment. Fifty-five total unforced errors to Tsitsipas’ 36. At 5-6 in the third, a couple of errant forehands handed the Greek set point, and he pounced. No hesitation. The fourth-set tiebreak was pure drama, ending with a long Federer forehand at match point. 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, 7-6. Nearly four hours of tennis, and the veteran gunslinger was forced to bow out, overtaken by a young, hungry lion who would go on to reach his maiden semifinal.
