Eliot Spizzirri arrives at the Australian Open after a season that altered the trajectory of his career. The 24-year-old American, making his first Grand Slam main-draw appearance without qualifying or a wild card, opens against Joao Fonseca.

Spizzirri’s week at the ASB Classic in Auckland offered encouraging signs. “My parents went on their honeymoon here,” the American told TENNIS.com earlier this week at the ASB Classic, “but they got divorced, so it’s not necessarily…I don’t know if it’s the best place, but I was excited to see it because they said good things.” In his first four matches at the tournament—two in qualifying, two in the main draw—he did not drop a set, including a win over No. 8 seed Nuno Borges, who had ended Spizzirri’s breakthrough 2025 campaign in November.

Spizzirri began 2026 inside the Top 100 for the first time, which allowed direct entry into Melbourne and let him plan an offseason differently. “It was my first time having a chunk where I could focus on training for a Grand Slam,” Spizzirri says. “I wasn’t really training for three out of five sets [before].”

His ascent followed a relentless 2025: 87 matches across main tour and Challenger events, plus 19 doubles appearances, and frequent travel to events including Nonthaburi, Jingshan and Brest. After a Wimbledon qualifying loss in June he returned to grass in Newport, Rhode Island, where he has played the last three years. “Along with the US Open, this is definitely my favorite tournament of the year,” he said. The Hall of Fame Open is two-and-a-half hours from home, and the Connecticut native praised the club’s treatment of him.

When he was ranked 128th, Spizzirri briefly missed direct entry into the US Open, then gained a wild card after Matteo Berrettini withdrew. He defeated Stefan Dostanic for 50 ranking points, $154,000 and his first Grand Slam main-draw win.

His pathway included college tennis at the University of Texas and top collegiate honors: No. 1 in singles and No. 2 in doubles in 2023, a 65-11 singles record and back-to-back ITA National Player of the Year awards. “My decision to go to Texas was purely because I thought that would give me the best chance to be a professional,” he says, and at the same time, “it was the best experience I’ve ever had.”

Looking ahead to Melbourne, Spizzirri hopes to enjoy the experience without the strain of qualifying. “I haven’t fished yet,” Spizzirri, a passionate angler, said after his win over Borges. “But I’m hoping to at some point.”

Eighth-ranked Ben Shelton opened his 2026 campaign with a straight-set victory, beating Francisco Comesana 7-5, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the ATP Tour event in Auckland.

The top seed, who received a first-round bye at the ATP 250 tournament he has used to start his season the last four years, saved a set point in the opening set and closed out the match in 1 hour, 42 minutes. With his coach and father Brian Shelton and partner Trinity Rodman watching courtside, Shelton delivered 12 aces and won 78% of his first-serve points, though his play occasionally showed signs of recent inactivity.

“I feel great, knocked off a little bit of rust but just feel great to be back playing, back competing,” Shelton said. “I think it’s great when you get to play a competitive match, feel the tension at certain points of the match and then obviously get a win and give yourself the opportunity to play again.”

Shelton faced a break point in his first service game and initially found Comesana’s serve difficult to break. Comesana had a set point at 5-4 but overhit a backhand down the line when Shelton approached the net. Shelton held, broke for 6-5 and then broke again in the opening game of the second set, carrying that advantage to seal the victory.

The Auckland stop is a lead-in event to the Australian Open, which starts Sunday in Melbourne.

Second seed Casper Ruud was upset in the second round by unseeded Hungarian Fabian Marozsan, 6-4, 6-4. Marozsan, who eliminated defending champion Gael Monfils in the first round, broke Ruud in the opening game and took the first set in 40 minutes. Ruud raised his serving level in the second set, but Marozsan broke again in the ninth game and held to win.

“I had a great serve today and I tried to push my game, tried to be aggressive, tried to believe in myself and everything just happened today,” Marozsan said. “It was a good day for me and hopefully I can keep going.”

Fifth-seeded Cameron Norrie also exited in round two, losing 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Fabian Marozsan rallied from a set down to beat defending champion Gael Monfils 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening match of Monfils’ previously announced farewell season. The 26-year-old Marozsan overcame a strong start from the 39-year-old Monfils to prevail in exactly two hours.

Monfils, who won the Auckland title in 2025, claimed the first set after breaking for a 7-5 set victory following a break in the 11th game. He produced 10 aces over the course of the match but surrendered his first service game in the second set. Marozsan seized the momentum by pulling off two superb winners at the net and captured the second set 6-3.

In the decisive set, Monfils dropped serve in the fifth game but immediately broke back and pressed Marozsan with his varied power. Marozsan secured the crucial break at 5-4 and held serve to close out the win.

The result came three days after Monfils’ wife, Elina Svitolina, won her 19th WTA Tour title on the same court. Monfils told his wife before her final, “if you don’t win this year I don’t know what to tell you anymore.” Svitolina and Monfils are one of only a few husband and wife teams to have held ATP and WTA singles titles in the same tournament at the same time.

This match marked Monfils’ first tournament outing since September. Marozsan’s comeback, highlighted by timely net play and a decisive late break, ended the defending champion’s bid to repeat at the event in what Monfils has described as his farewell campaign.