Ivan Lendl defeated Miloslav Mečíř in the final, 6–2, 6–2, 6–2 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1989 Australian Open. Mats Wilander was the defending champion, but lost in the second round to Ramesh Krishnan. This was the first Australian Open in which future world No. 1 Pete Sampras competed in the main draw.