Petr Korda defeated Marcelo Ríos in the final, 6–2, 6–2, 6–2 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1998 Australian Open. It was his first and only major title, becoming the first Czech player to win a major singles title. It was Ríos' only major final; he remains the only man to have held the world No. 1 singles ranking without ever winning a major singles title. Ríos was the first Chilean player to reach the major singles final since Luis Ayala in 1960, and the first Chilean player in hard court final.