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, Novak Djokovic vs Jeremy Chardy, Denis Shapovalov vs Jannik Sinner, Nick Kyrgios vs Frederico Ferreira Silva, Stan Wawrinka vs Pedro Sousa, Grigor Dimitrov vs Marin Cilic, and Dominic Thiem vs Mikhail Kukushkin.
Predicting this set of matches are Aldo Ostreicher, Steen Kirby, and Damian Kust.
Australian Open Day 1 Predictions
Yuichi Sugita vs Bernard Tomic
Aldo:
Bernard Tomic managed to qualify himself for the Australian Open after three close matches in qualifying. It cost him sweat and blood to be part of the final draw. In this sense, despite the fact that the Aussie has been historically more successful in Grand Slams than his rival, the favorite is Yuichi Sugita. The Japanese performed better than Tomic in the last year and he should win a tight match.
Steen:
Tomic has made far more headlines off the court than on lately, but he still came through qualifying after a year off from tennis. Sugita is a steady player who will put the ball in play but he lacks weapons. Tomic is at home and his natural talent should be enough.
Prediction: Tomic in 4
Damian:
Expecting anything from Bernard Tomic could lead to a disaster. I’m stupid enough to do it though and if the drive from the qualifying draw will be there, this is still an extremely talented player we’re talking about. Not to take anything away from Yuichi Sugita but a motivated Tomic seems to have a tad more to offer right now.
Prediction: Tomic in 5
Sergiy Stakhovsky vs Dusan Lajovic
Aldo:
Stakhovsky leads the H2H against Lajovic 3-1 if we take into account their matches not only in ATP tournaments but also in minor events. He actually defeated Lajovic in the 2015 Australian Open in five sets. Nevertheless, it’s been six years since then and the Ukranian is now 35 years old and out of the Top 200. Lajovic should win without major problems.
Prediction: Lajovic in 4
Steen:
Stakovsk has a 3-1 h2h and Lajovic’s form is awful. The Serbian hasn’t won a tour match since the French Open, while the veteran serve and volleyer Stakhovsky is 4-1 to start the year. He should serve and volley his way to another win.
Prediction: Stakhovsky in 4
Damian:
It was a great achievement from Sergiy Stakhovsky to make it to the main draw here. Dusan Lajovic might have lost both his matches at the ATP Cup but his level was actually promising. Stakhovsky’s old-school style can take players by surprise, but he’s far from the best that could let him compete with the Serbian.
Prediction: Lajovic in 3
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Frances Tiafoe vs Stefano Travaglia
Aldo:
Frances Tiafoe has a great future ahead and he can be one of the players of the future, but right now Stefano Travaglia is enjoying one of the best moments of his career after reaching the final of the Great Ocean Road Open. The Italian has a 7-1 W/L this year while the American is 2-2, so we could have a surprise if the Travaglia gets to the match with a lot of confidence.
Prediction: Travaglia in 5
Steen:
Travaglia is playing amazing, but fatigue will be a factor for him as he’s in the final of one of the AO warm up tournaments (7-1 to start the year). I’ll go with Tiafoe presuming Travaglia won’t be able to recover to 100%.
Prediction: Tiafoe in 4
Damian:
Stefano Travaglia is coming off the best week of his life but that might actually lead to his demise. With a total of five matches played in the past four days, there’s no way there will be enough fuel left in his tank to take on Frances Tiafoe in a best-of-five sets match.
Prediction: Tiafoe in 4
Alexander Zverev vs Marcos Giron
Aldo:
In this match, we have a clear favorite: Alexander Zverev. The German demonstrated that he can be very competitive in the Grand Slams after reaching the final of the 2020 US Open. Even though it’s always difficult to face a player for the first time (they never met before), Zverev should have no trouble beating Giron in straight sets. The American has never made it past the first Round of the Australian Open.
Prediction: Zverev in 3
Steen:
Giron is in great form, going 10-3 in his last three tournaments dating back to last year. Zverev is just 2-4 since reaching the Paris final. However, he was playing competition far stronger than Giron. Although an upset watch is justified here, it would still surprise me.
Prediction: Zverev in 3
Damian:
Marcos Giron has developed quite rapidly over the past two years or so but this is a really tough ask. Alexander Zverev almost defeated Novak Djokovic at the ATP Cup and seems to be in the right headspace to compete for the biggest trophies right now. Sometimes overlooked when it comes to naming favorites, the German could be very dangerous this fortnight.
Prediction: Zverev in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
