Defending champion Johan Kriek defeated Steve Denton in a rematch of the previous year's final, 6–3, 6–3, 6–2 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1982 Australian Open. Kriek saved a match point en route to the title, against Paul McNamee in the semifinals. The format of this year's tournament was best of 5 sets in the first two rounds, best of 3 sets in rounds 3 and 4, then best of 5 sets for the rest of the tournament.
Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Johan Kriek is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.