The first Grand Slam tournament of the year kicks off in Melbourne. It’s been a strange path to get here, but we’re finally here. Day 1 of the Australian Open will begin Monday morning, Melbourne time, and we’re here to predict every match for you. With 32 men’s matches, that means we’re splitting up the matches between eight articles. Make sure you don’t miss our other predictions as well, featuring Milos Raonic vs Federico Coria, Alexander Zverev vs Marcos Giron, Denis Shapovalov vs Jannik Sinner, Nick Kyrgios vs Frederico Ferreira Silva, Stan Wawrinka vs Pedro Sousa, Novak Djokovic vs Jeremy Chardy, and Dominic Thiem vs Mikhail Kukushkin.
Predicting this set of matches are Elias, Steen Kirby, and Damian Kust.
Australian Open Day 1 Predictions
Adrian Mannarino vs Dennis Novak
Elias:
The Frenchman is a tricky player to deal with while Novak is coming off a great performance with his native team Austria at the ATP Cup. Look to the Frenchman to pull this one though as I feel he has more weapons at his disposal.
Prediction: Mannarino in 5
Steen:
Mannarino finished the year in great form. Novak is likely a step below his level right now.
Prediction: Mannarino in 4
Damian:
Both players have been up and down recently and this could be quite the rollercoaster. Adrian Mannarino’s game should work well in fast conditions and he’s also great at not giving the opponents comfortable balls to attack from. That could expose Dennis Novak’s slight lack of variety.
Prediction: Mannarino in 4
John Millman vs Corentin Moutet
Elias:
The Aussie is always a favorite when he plays at home and has shown he can handle the pressure of playing on the big stage as we saw when he beat Roger Federer a couple years back. Moutet is coming off a very bad loss that showed he is mentally fragile and cracks under pressure easily.
Prediction: Millman in 3
Steen:
Moutet reached the semis in one of the warm up tournaments but Millman is playing at home and finished the year strong. It will be tough but I’ll back Millman to get the job done.
Prediction: Millman in 5
Damian:
One of the highlights of the round? Could be, as Corentin Moutet had a great week and John Millman often performs great down under. The Frenchman’s junkballing style could work well against Millman, but the Aussie likes feeding off the energy of the crowd and should enjoy being cheered on by a big audience again.
Prediction: Millman in 5
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Cedrik-Marcel Stebe vs Felix Auger-Aliassime
Elias:
The Canadian is coming off a final appearance, once again falling just short, so he will look to move past that very quickly and focus on a deep run. Stebe is a tricky opponent even though we haven’t seen much of him recently but don’t expect too much trouble.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 3
Steen:
Stebe is playing well, but it won’t be enough presuming Auger-Aliassime can recover quickly from one of the warm up tournament finals. The Canadian just has superior skills.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 4
Damian:
Is another final disappointment going to take its toll on the young Canadian? With each loss his anxiety will grow further and having to play five matches in four days won’t help. He is a far better hard court player than Stebe but all the extra circumstances are pointing in the German’s favor. Stebe’s chance is to make this about fitness, stay consistent and take advantage of the errors.
Prediction: Stebe in 5
Grigor Dimitrov vs Marin Cilic
Elias:
This is going to be a great match and sad enough as these players always have the potential to fight for a grand slam title and go far but were dealt a tough draw. Dimitrov is always dangerous while Cilic is one of those players that can serve bombs all day long. I honestly think Cilic lacks in consistency and Dimitrov has the skill to pass him all day long.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 4
Steen:
Cilic leads the H2H 4-2, but that’s the only thing in his favour as he’s been struggling, 0-3 in his last three matches. Dimitrov is 5-3 in the same span and should move closer to evening the h2h.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 5
Damian:
We know what these players can do when they’re on, but how does that relate to their Monday performance? It’s anyone’s guess really; both have done great at Australia in the past but have been out of form for a long time now. Grigor Dimitrov seems to be a tiny bit more solid and doesn’t really go below a certain level, which cannot be said about Marin Cilic.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 5
Main Photo from Getty.
