Sinner, Djokovic in opposite halves at the Australian Open, Sabalenka vs Stephens in 1st round

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Defending champion Jannik Sinner and 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic have landed in opposite sides of the draw for the season’s first major, ruling out a replay of last year’s semifinal match.

Sinner upset Djokovic in the semifinals here last year before coming back to beat Daniil Medvedev in the final 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 for his first Grand Slam singles title.

Top-ranked Sinner has a first-round match against Nicolas Jarry and also has Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Medvedev in his quarter of the draw. Fritz will open against fellow American Jenson Brooksby.

Djokovic and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz could meet in the quarterfinals, with a possible semifinal against No. 2 Alexander Zverev.

At the draw Thursday to set the brackets for the singles fields, defending champions Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka walked into the official ceremony on the steps of Margaret Court Arena holding their trophies.

Sabalenka won her second consecutive title at Melbourne Park in 2024 by defeating Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2. Sabalenka will be attempting to win a third consecutive women’s singles title at Melbourne Park, something last accomplished by Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999.

Sabalenka drew a tough opening match against 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens and has 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva and Zheng in her section.

“I have a lot of great memories and to be back here ... as a two-time Australian Open champion, it’s definitely something special,” Sabalenka, who won the Brisbane International title last week, said at the draw ceremony. “I hope that I can keep doing what I’m doing here in Australia.”

Third-seeded Coco Gauff is a potential semifinal rival for Sabalenka. Gauff has a challenging first-round match against former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and is in the same section of the draw as four-time major winner Naomi Osaka and seventh-seeded Jessica Pegula.

No. 2 Iga Swiatek and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina are on the other half of the draw.

The Australian Open starts Sunday morning in Melbourne (Saturday night EST in the U.S.) and will run for 15 days.

Doping and the cases involving Sinner — which is still not fully resolved — and Swiatek was a topic that shadowed tennis in 2024 and is still a talking point in Melbourne.

There's plenty else for fans to talk about.

Djokovic will be playing in his first event alongside new coach Andy Murray, his former on-court rival and a three-time major champion. Nobody has won the men's title at Melbourne Park more often than Djokovic, although he said he still feels trauma from the one year he wasn’t allowed to play.

Nick Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up who withdrew from an exhibition against Djokovic this week because of an abdominal strain, will face Jacob Fearnley in the first round if the mercurial Australian is fit enough to contest his first major since the 2022 U.S. Open. Kyrgios is in the same section as Zverev.

Tournament director Craig Tiley, left, and tournament referee Wayne McKewen conduct the official draw ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Defending champions Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner attend the official draw ceremony ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka celebrates winning against Russia's Polina Kudermetova during their final match at the Brisbane International in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher)

Serbia's Novak Djokovic is watches his coach Andy Murray, right, during a practice session ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Defending champions Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner attend the official draw ceremony ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s parliament was set Thursday to make yet another effort to elect a president, filling a vacuum that's lasted for more than two years.

While 12 previous attempts have failed to choose a successor to former President Michel Aoun, whose term ended in October 2022, there are indications that Thursday's vote may produce a head of state.

The leading candidate is Lebanese army commander Joseph Aoun, no relation to the former president. He is widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States and Saudi Arabia, whose assistance Lebanon will need as it seeks to rebuild after a 14-month conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah previously backed another candidate, Suleiman Frangieh, the leader of a small Christian party in northern Lebanon with close ties to former Syrian President Bashar Assad.

However, on Wednesday, Frangieh announced he had withdrawn from the race and endorsed Aoun, apparently clearing the way for the army chief.

Lebanon’s fractious sectarian power-sharing system is prone to deadlock, both for political and procedural reasons. The small, crisis-battered Mediterranean country has been through several extended presidential vacancies, with the longest lasting nearly 2 1/2 years between May 2014 and October 2016. It ended when former President Michel Aoun was elected.

As a sitting army commander, Joseph Aoun is technically barred from becoming president by Lebanon's consitution. The ban has been waived before, but it means that Aoun faces additional procedural hurdles.

Under normal circumstances, a presidential candidate in Lebanon can be elected by a two-thirds majority of the 128-member house in the first round of voting, or by a simple majority in a subsequent round.

But because of the constitutional issues surrounding his election, Aoun would need a two-thirds majority even in the second round.

Other contenders include Jihad Azour, a former finance minister who is now the director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund; and Elias al-Baysari, the acting head of Lebanon’s General Security agency.

A president is needed to appoint a permanent prime minister and cabinet. The caretaker government that has run Lebanon for the last two years has reduced powers because it was not appointed by a sitting president.

The next government will face daunting challenges apart from implementing the ceasefire agreement that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war and seeking funds for reconstruction.

Lebanon is six years into an economic and financial crisis that decimated the country's currency and wiped out the savings of many Lebanese. The cash-strapped state electricity company provides only a few hours of power a day.

The country's leaders reached a preliminary agreement with the IMF for a bail-out package in 2022 but have made limited progress on reforms required to clinch the deal.

FILE - Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun arrives for a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

FILE - In this photo released by the Lebanese Parliament media office, Lebanese lawmakers attending a parliament session, in Beirut, Lebanon, April 18, 2023. (Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament media office via AP, File)