Australian Open: Schedule, draws and where to watch live streaming in India

The Australian Open – the first tennis Grand Slam of the year – gets underway at Melbourne Park from Monday, February 8.

Swiss ace Roger Federer may not be involved due to COVID-19 concerns but both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are on the star-studded roster.

Indian representation at the tournament will be through men’s singles player Sumit Nagal and men’s doubles specialists Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan. Ankita Raina, too, will be in women's doubles. Fans can watch the Australian Open 2021 live in India on TV broadcast and live streaming.

Australian Open 2020 winner Novak Djokovic will be on the lookout for an unprecedented ninth Australian Open title this year and starts his campaign with a first round clash against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

Placed in the top half of the Australian Open 2021 men’s singles draw, revealed on Friday, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic will need to go through a minefield if he is to make it to the final on February 21.

The Serb could potentially come up against 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka, in-form Alexander Zverev and last year’s finalist Dominic Thiem en route to the title decider.

Current World No. 2 Rafael Nadal, whose solitary Australian Open success came way back in 2009, meanwhile, have been placed in a much easier bottom half along with the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The Spaniard, aiming for his 21st Grand Slam title to overtake Roger Federer, will be up against Laslo Djere of Serbia in his opening fixture.

India’s Sumit Nagal, a wild card entry at the event, is also in the bottom half and starts his campaign against Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis.

In the women’s singles draw, reigning champion Sofia Kenin kickstarts her title defence against Australian wild card Maddison Inglis.

However, all eyes will be on Serena Williams, who will be attempting to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 majors at the event.

Serena Williams starts her venture against Germany’s dangerous Laura Siegemund and may come up against Simona Halep, Naomi Osaka, world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty on the trot next.

A potential semi-final rematch from last year against Sofia Kenin is also a possibility.

Serena’s elder sister Venus Williams, who turns 40 in four months, will be attempting to win her eight Grand Slam and will kick off her campaign against Belgian Kirsten Flipkens.

Barty, Osaka and Halep, meanwhile, open their respective campaigns against Montenegro’s Danka Kovinić, Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Australia’s Lizette Cabrera, respectively.

In men's doubles, India's Rohan Bopanna and his new Japanese partner Ben McLachlan open their campaign against South Korean wildcard entrants of Ji Sung Nam and Min-Kyu Song.

Divij Sharan, meanwhile, will partner up with Igor Zelenay of Slovakia. The dup take on the German pair of  Yannick Hanfmann and Kevin Krawietz in the opening round.

Ankita Raina, who squeezed into the women's doubles draw as the Lucky Loser, pairs up with Romania's Mihaela Buzarnescu, will take on the Australian pair of Olivia Gadecki and Belinda Woolcock in her Grand Slam debut.

Australian Open 2021 schedule and time in India

Live broadcast of the Australian Open 2021 main draw matches start in India from 5:30 AM IST (Indian Standard Time) on Monday, February 8, and will run till Sunday, February 21.

Where to watch the Australian Open 2021 live in India?

Select Australian Open 2021 tennis matches will be telecast live on the Sony SIX, Sony SIX HD, Sony TEN 2 and Sony TEN 2 HD TV channels in India. It will also be aired in Hindi on Sony TEN 3 and Sony TEN 3 HD TV channels.

Live streaming of the Australian Open in India will be available on SonyLiv.