The third round of the Australian Open begins on Thursday night and carries on into Friday morning for American viewers.
These are my Australian Open best bets to target on DraftKings Sportsbook for the first day of the third round.
2026 Australian Open Third Round Best Bets
Iva Jovic vs. Jasmine Paolini: Jovic ML (+108)
Iva Jovic is one of the rising stars in women’s tennis. The 18-year-old is the next great incredible young American phenom in the sport. Despite some of the recent phenoms like Coco Gauff, Jovic was the youngest American to win a US Open main draw match since 2000, when she broke onto the scene in 2024. Last year, Jovic played in her first Australian Open and won her opening round match, before losing to the No. 6 seed Elena Rybakina. Jovic should be confident here in Australia, where she won the 2024 Australian Open Juniors Doubles title. She has taken big strides in the offseason, improving her athleticism and strength. Jovic seems poised for a massive upset in the third round against Jasmine Paolini.
Paolini ended 2025 on a poor note, losing all three of her matches at the WTA Finals. Going back to her last major, the US Open, she didn’t make it out of the Round of 32. Paolini did not play in any of the tournaments leading up to the Australian Open and has been performing much better in doubles than singles in recent months. Jovic is playing the best tennis of her life, allowing her opponents to win just eight total games over her first two matches of this tournament. She is hungry for greatness, while Paolini is on the downside of her career. This is a great opportunity for Jovic to snatch the biggest win of her career and move on to the next round.
Parlay: Learner Tien ML & Ben Shelton ML (-111)
Learner Tien is proving to be one of the best American men in tennis. The 20-year-old won the Next Gen ATP Finals at the end of 2025, proving that he is the star of the next generation. Tien played in all four Grand Slams in the same year for the first time in 2025. His best performance by far was here in Australia, where he upset Daniil Medvedev and made it to the fourth round. He has a great chance to match that result by making the fourth round again in 2026. Tien is facing Nuno Borges, a player he has only faced once before in his career. That match came last year on hardcourt at the Paris Masters. Tien won that match comfortably, 6-2, 7-6. Tien should continue his ascendancy in the sport by beating Borges again and moving on to the fourth round.
The other young American that has been making waves the last several years is Ben Shelton. Shelton has already proven that he can go deep into Grand Slams, especially here in Australia. In his three career apperances at the Australian Open, he has made a quarterfinal and a semifinal. In this third round match, Shelton is facing Valentin Vacherot. Vacherot is a nice player, but Shelton has much more Grand Slam experience. This is the first time that Vacherot has ever made it out of the first round of a Grand Slam, not even making it out of the qualifiers at any major last year. Shelton should use his experience in these big matches to take care of Vacherot and move on.
