We’ve seen some incredible tennis on the first day of the Australian Open, and there’s much more to look forward to on Day 2. 32 men’s matches will be contested on Tuesday, and we’re predicting every single one of them. Predicting this group of matches is Jim Smith, Damian Kust, and Fraser Learmonth.
Each set of predictions from us looks at four matches. That means the 32 matches will be split between eight articles. The other articles feature Alexei Popyrin vs David Goffin, Daniil Medvedev vs Vasek Pospisil, Fabio Fognini vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Gilles Simon vs Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini vs Kevin Anderson, Lorenzo Sonego vs Sam Querrey, and Rafael Nadal vs Laslo Djere.
Australian Open Day 2 Men’s Predictions
Henri Laaksonen vs Salvatore Caruso
Jim:
Salvatore Caruso played some good tennis at the Great Ocean Road Open, beating his countryman Andreas Seppi and ninth seed Tennys Sandgren en route to the quarterfinals. Henri Laaksonen, in contrast, lost first round and has still failed to establish himself as a tour-level regular. This is a match the Italian should win.
Prediction: Caruso in 4
Fraser:
Two players who hover in and around the top 100 on the men’s tour will be hoping to take advantage of a winnable first round match here to gain some valuable ranking points. Both are probably more comfortable on clay but have proven themselves capable hard court players when in the mood. This is tough to call and will likely go to the player who holds their best level for longest with little to pick between the two. I think Laaksonen has a little more to offer and should take this.
Prediction: Laaksonen in 5
Damian:
Henri Laaksonen did well to qualify and looked very solid in a loss to Sam Querrey at the Great Ocean Road Open. He should give Salvatore Caruso a fair bit of trouble here but with the Italian playing the best tennis of his career recently, he should come out on top.
Prediction: Caruso in 4
Thanasi Kokkinakis vs Soon-Woo Kwon
Jim:
Thanasi Kokkinakis will unfortunately never become the player he might have if not for injuries. Indeed, the extent of his decline was illustrated by his three-set loss at the hands of Alex Bolt in the first round at the Murray River Open. Against a player of Kwon’s quality, he looks set to suffer further disappointment.
Prediction: Kwon in 4
Fraser:
This is a battle of two hopeful up-and-comers on the men’s tour. Kwon looked set to rise up the ranks after a strong 2019 but a shortened 2020 season left him with few opportunities to do so. Kokkanikas is also a talented young player who will be hopeful of picking up some valuable ranking points here in an attempt to cement a place inside the top 100 in the coming months. Kokkinakis has a big serve that may be hard to deal with on Melbourne’s courts, but Kwon has the higher level and is overall a better player. He should advance here
Prediction: Kwon in 4
Damian:
No way to tell how Thanasi Kokkinakis’s body will hold up here. Talents like his just should not go to waste and hopefully, the Australian will be fit to play. If so, perhaps the support of the crowd and the hunger to compete can pull him through.
Prediction: Kokkinakis in 5
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Borna Coric vs Guido Pella
Jim:
Borna Coric will doubtless have been disappointed by the nature of his defeat in the Murray River Open quarterfinals, but it was nonetheless an encouraging week for the Croatian. In what is likely to be a baseline battle with Guido Pella, he will surely like his chances and he would be right to feel confident.
Prediction: Coric in 4
Fraser:
Coric had a strong showing in the warmup events, getting one over rival Kyrgios in a tight match. He is also much more comfortable on hard courts than Pella. Pella remains predominantly a clay court specialist and doesn’t have the weapons to trouble Coric who is brilliantly defensively and counterpunches better than most on the tour. The croatian should win this without too much trouble.
Prediction: Coric in 3
Damian:
Could be very much a slugfest with Borna Coric not comfortable at generating pace and Guido Pella probably recognizing that and feeling okay with letting him lead. The Croat has been in much better form recently though and should take this most of the time.
Prediction: Coric in 4
Andrey Rublev vs Yannick Hanfmann
Jim:
Andrey Rublev’s exploits so far this year suggest that he will be a man few relish facing at the Australian Open. And if he is causing concern in the likes of Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev, one fears for Yannick Hanfmann.
Prediction: Rublev in 3
Fraser:
You have to feel for Hanfmann with this draw. The German is certainly no slouch, but in Rublev he places perhaps the most in-form player on the to. Rublev didn’t lose a match in the ATP Cup and blew most of his opponents off the court. It would take something close to a miracle for Hanfmann to advance here given the tennis Rublev has played over the last week.
Prediction: Rublev in 3
Damian:
The way Andrey Rublev is playing right now, only a handful of players have any sort of a chance of stopping him. Yannick Hanfmann isn’t one of them and didn’t look that great last week.
Prediction: Rublev in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
