Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz, the top two U.S. men, have high expectations in Australia, and in 2026

The Australian Open has been a happy hunting ground for U.S. players during this decade.

On the women’s side, Madison Keys and Sofia Kenin won their only Grand Slam titles in Melbourne, while Danielle Collins and Jen Brady made their only Slam finals there.

The men haven’t had quite the same level of success, but Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Sebastian Korda and Tennys Sandgren have reached the quarterfinals or better during the 2020s. Last year another Yank, Learner Tien, made his first splash Down Under, and this year Columbia University’s Michael Zheng has done the same.

Any U.S. player who has been to Australia in January understands its appeal. The hard courts feel like home, and the sudden summer weather turns the tournament into an extended vacation. The stars also don’t have to contend with the expectations and scrutiny they get in New York during the US Open.

That doesn’t mean there’s no pressure to perform, of course. After the AO, there isn’t another major for five months, and that one’s on clay in Paris, which is generally the opposite of happy hunting for Americans. These two weeks in Australia may be early in the season, but they present a big opportunity for hard-courters and power servers—i.e., most U.S. players—to build ranking points.

In 2026, this will be especially true for the top two American men, No. 8 Ben Shelton and No. 9 Taylor Fritz, both of whom are in action on Tuesday. Here’s a look ahead at their opening-round matches, and what’s at stake for them this week and next.

Ben Shelton vs. Ugo Humbert

Rod Laver Arena, Day Session, Second On (9:30 P.M. ET)

Going by the rankings, Shelton has the toughest draw of any seeded man at the AO. There are 32 seeds at every Slam, and Humbert is currently ranked 33rd.

That number may actually be a little low. The 27-year-old Frenchman has won seven career titles, including one in 2025. He has been ranked as high as No. 13. He made the fourth round in Melbourne last year. He’s also a lefty, which will  take away some of his fellow-southpaw Shelton’s usual advantage. Maybe most ominous of all, Humbert is in fine form: He just made the final in Adelaide.

And what about Ben? This may not be an ideal moment for him to fend off a tricky opener.

After making the semifinals here in 2025, the 23-year-old Atlantan is defending 800 ranking points this time around; an early loss might drop him out of the Top 10. Form-wise, he’s 1-1 on the year so far, and just lost in straight sets to Sebastian Baez, a lower-ranked clay-courter.

Shelton peaked last summer, when he made the quarters at Wimbledon and won his first Masters 1000, in Toronto. But a left-shoulder injury forced him out of the US Open, and brought his momentum to a screeching halt. He went 3-6 after the Open, and 0-3 at the ATP Finals in Turin.

Shelton and Humbert have never played. The American will have the advantage on the serve—though Humbert’s lefty slice is effective—and the forehand. Humbert has a better drive backhand, and a deceptive, darting net attack. As the lower-ranked player, he may also have the advantage of having less to lose.

Despite all of that, I’ll pick big-stage Ben to feed off the crowd and find a way in five. Winner: Shelton

Taylor Fritz vs. Valentin Royer

John Cain Arena, Night Session, First On (1:00 A.M. ET)

On paper, Fritz has an easier assignment than Shelton. He also faces a Frenchman for the first time, but this one is ranked considerably lower. Royer is currently 58th, and has never been higher than 56th. He has also never won a title, and may struggle to stay with Fritz in the power department. At 6'2", he gives up three inches to the American.

Like Shelton, though, Fritz will be under his own form of pressure. The fact that he lost early here last year means he’s not defending a ton of points, but it also means he really won’t want the same thing to happen again. With the courts Down Under getting quicker, this big server should be going deeper there, the way he has at Wimbledon and the US Open. Fritz is only the No. 9 seed this time, but his draw—he’s in the same section as Lorenzo Musetti—gives him a chance to go far.

To do that he’ll need to show more than he did in United Cup two weeks ago. Fritz went 1-3, losing close matches to Hubert Hurkacz, Sebastian Baez and Stefanos Tsitsipas, and edging Jaume Munar in a third-set tiebreaker. The good news is that a knee problem he’d been nursing seemed to improve, and he said he felt good about his game even during the defeats.

“It was a bit of a weird one,” Fritz said after losing to Tsitsipas, “because I felt like I was for the most part playing pretty well. I kind of had all the shots that I needed. When I was missing balls, they didn't feel like, I guess, bad misses. They felt good. I felt like I was striking the ball well, serving well.”

That should be enough to get him past Royer on Tuesday. He may need more to go as far as he hopes. Winner: Fritz