With the top half of the men’s draw set to battle it out for a place in the last 32 at the Australian Open, there should be no shortage of entertaining action on day four in Melbourne. Rafael Nadal is set to face Federico Delbonis whilst Daniil Medvedev plays qualifier Pedro Martinez and Nick Kyrgios takes on Gilles Simon. We here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for all 16 men’s matches, with Jim Smith, Yesh Ginsburg and Damian Kust giving their picks for this slate of matches. Who will advance?
Australian Open Day 4 Predictions
Dominic Thiem vs Alex Bolt
Jim: Alex Bolt enjoyed a great run at the Australian Open last season and he delivered another good performance to beat Albert Ramos Vinolas, 7-6 1-6 6-7 6-1 6-4, in the first round. However, it is hard to see him getting past fifth seed Dominic Thiem. The Austrian has established himself as a real force on the hard courts in the last 12 months and he thrashed Adrian Mannarino in the first round. Bolt may be more competitive, but another straight-sets win for Thiem seems more than likely.
Prediction: Thiem in 3
Yesh: Bolt impressed in a five-set upset in his opener, and his reward is a matchup against the in-form Dominic Thiem. Ouch. The Australian will at least get to play on a show court, but his time out there might be rather brief.
Prediction: Thiem in 3
Damian: Could this get tricky for Thiem? Bolt has scored another decent upset at his home Slam, but it would take a huge step up to take out the fifth seed. Especially given how well Thiem started his Australian Open campaign against Mannarino.
Prediction: Thiem in 4
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Taylor Fritz vs Kevin Anderson
Jim: Kevin Anderson deserves great credit for the manner in which he battled to victory in five sets against the qualifier Ilya Ivashka, who put in a superb performance. But that match has surely taken a lot out of the South African’s legs and Taylor Fritz, who dismissed qualifier Tallon Griekspoor in the first round in three, will look to take advantage. Fritz has improved markedly in the last six months and should be too solid for the returning Anderson here.
Prediction: Fritz in 4
Yesh: Anderson needed a fifth-set match-tiebreak to find his way through his opener against Ivashka. Fritz, meanwhile, looks to be in good form and confident. Give me the American, who looks better from the baseline and whose serve is clicking.
Prediction: Fritz in 3
Damian: Although I would pick Anderson before the tournament, his performance against Ivashka was a bit of a cooler. The South African spent almost four hours on the court and only prevailed in a fifth set tiebreak. Fritz, meanwhile, had an easy day at the office to beat Tallon Griekspoor. I expect his fresher legs to give him the advantage.
Prediction: Fritz in 4
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Aljaz Bedene vs Ernests Gulbis
Jim: Aljaz Bedene is always there or thereabouts, but the Slovenian’s game does lack a real weapon. He nonetheless proved just too good for James Duckworth, beating the journeyman Australian in five sets. However, it is hard to see him repeating that victory against Ernests Gulbis, who added to Felix Auger-Aliassime’s struggles with a four-set win in the first round. The Latvian isn’t exactly consistent, but when he gets on a roll, he tends to be a hard man to stop.
Prediction: Gulbis in 4
Yesh: Bedene got through the double-faulting Duckworth in five sets in his opening match, while Gulbis showed flashes of his old brilliance in upsetting Felix Auger-Aliassime. Can Gulbis keep up his level? The last decade of experience says no, but this week says probably.
Prediction: Gulbis in 3
Damian: Based on the Latvian’s last couple of years, this looks likely to be another let down after a good win. But something tells me Gulbis is playing well enough to capitalize on the opportunity. Especially as Bedene has admitted that the conditions at the Australian Open don’t really suit his game.
Prediction: Gulbis in 4
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Alexander Zverev vs Egor Gerasimov
Jim: So pronounced have Alexander Zverev’s struggles been recently, that he arrived at the Australian Open with more or less no expectations on him. That lack of pressure appeared to help him in the first round as he saw off the determined challenge of Marco Cecchinato in straight-sets. And if he can play with that freedom again against Egor Gerasimov, he should also be able to account for the Belarusian as well. The problem for Zverev, is he doesn’t seem to be escape the pressure for long or cope with it when it arrives.
Prediction: Zverev in 4
Yesh: Zverev got through the Italian Cecchinato without too much trouble, while Gerasimov played late into the night to survive a testing encounter with the young gun Ruud. I think Zverev gets through this on endurance, even if Gerasimov outplays him at first.
Prediction: Zverev in 4
Damian: Zverev definitely didn’t impress against Cecchinato, he just beat an opponent that had even more confidence issues than he does. Gerasimov, meanwhile, is coming off a great win and definitely has the ability to make that closer. Unless Zverev somehow majorly improves in two days, I expect it to be a nail-biter. But the German’s quality should just about see him through.
Prediction: Zverev in 5
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