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, Grigor Dimitrov vs Marin Cilic, and Novak Djokovic vs Jeremy Chardy.
Predicting this set of matches are myself (Yesh Ginsburg), Steen Kirby, and Damian Kust.
Australian Open Day 1 Predictions
Alex Bolt vs Norbert Gombos
Steen:
Bolt is 2-0 in the H2H. Gombos is capable but Bolt should be most comfortable and won a couple of warm up matches. Also, when in doubt go with the home player.
Prediction: Bolt in 4
Damian:
Alex Bolt is used to overperforming at the Australian Open, losing a five-setter to Dominic Thiem two years ago and reaching the third round last year. After a good run at Melbourne, it looks like another one of these surprising runs could be on the cards.
Prediction: Bolt in 4
Yesh:
I would usually pick Gombos here, actually, as I think he has the slightly better upside right now and is slightly more consistent. In Australia, though, the native Aussie always raises his level, so I think he’ll pull this out.
Prediction: Bolt in 4
Miomir Kecmanovic vs Kamil Majchrzak
Steen:
The H2H is split but Kecmanovic is playing better tennis right now. The Serbian should march on to the second round in this one.
Prediction: Kecmanovic in 4
Damian:
Miomir Kecmanovic gave a pretty good scare to Great Ocean Road Open champion Jannik Sinner this week and probably should have won the opening set. Kamil Majchrzak looked shaky in his display there and it’s been a while since we’ve seen him play as well as when he took Kei Nishikori to five sets here.
Prediction: Kecmanovic in 4
Yesh:
Kecmanovic can be inconsistent at times, but he’s also a huge potential talent. Majchrzak, meanwhile, doesn’t nearly have as strong a top-level game, and he’s not even at his best right now.
Prediction: Kecmanovic in 3
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Federico Delbonis vs Juan Ignacio Londero
Steen:
An All-Argentine battle, Londero is 2-1 in their matches. Neither is playing well right now, and both are at their best on clay. On a hard court, edge to Delbonis.
Prediction: Delbonis in 4
Damian:
Their match at Roland Garros last year was one of the low-key highlights of the event with Juan Ignacio Londero winning 14-12 in the fifth. This is pretty much a toss-up again–both often do not shine on hard courts and had a bad loss in the first round this week. Going with Londero again, who seemed to have adapted to the conditions better and took a set off Mikhail Kukushkin.
Prediction: Londero in 5
Yesh:
This is a complete toss-up match. Neither player is great on hard courts and both have potential on clay. This match isn’t on clay, though. I think Londero will hold up better, but I’m not at all confident in this.
Prediction: Londero in 3
Dominic Thiem vs Mikhail Kukushkin
Steen:
Kukushkin could make this interesting but Thiem should overwhelm him over a best of five sets match.
Prediction: Thiem in 3
Damian:
It wasn’t a perfect ATP Cup campaign from Dominic Thiem, but his hard court game got a lot more reliable in the past two years or so. The Austrian is not as vulnerable to early losses as he was before and while Mikhail Kukushkin’s flat strokes could be tricky to face, Thiem’s problem solving has been extremely on point in recent times.
Prediction: Thiem in 3
Yesh:
Kukushkin is a decent player, but Thiem is one of the world’s best. The Austrian won last year’s US Open, and he’s not starting with an early loss at the first Major this year.
Prediction: Thiem in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
