The third round starts on Day 5 of the Australian Open. We’ll get to see eight men’s matches on Friday to see who advances to the second week. As always, we here at LWOT will share our thoughts on all the matches. We split the day’s matches between two articles, with the other featuring Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Tallon Griekspoor. Predicting today’s matches are Glenys Furness, Jakub Bobro, and Jim Smith. Who do you think will win?
Australian Open Day 5 Men’s Predictions
Jannik Sinner vs Marton Fucsovics
Glenys:
Sinner has played six sets of tennis to get through to the third round. Including a very straight forward victory over Brit Kyle Edmund, who is just starting his comeback from injury. Etcheverry also didn’t put up much of a fight as the 15th seed strolled along.
Fuscovics has had a much tougher route here. A first round five set battle followed by a four setter to get here. The Hungarian has spent longer on court and it will show. Fuscovics will need to find something extra in this match
Prediction: Sinner in 3
Jakub:
Sinner has been dominant against unimpressive opposition in the first two rounds, dropping six games to Kyle Edmund and seven to Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Fucsovics has had one of the more puzzling starts to the season, winning the prestigious Challenger in Canberra before losing to Robin Haase in Adelaide qualifying. In Melbourne, the Hungarian struggled past clay-court specialist Federico Coria before taking out resurgent Lloyd Harris, who had just upset Lorenzo Musetti. Fucsovics leads the head-to-head 2-1 with both his wins coming at slams. I expect a high-quality battle with the Hungarian coming out on top again.
Prediction: Fucsovics in 5
Jim:
Sinner has looked sharp so far in Melbourne, with the relatively slow courts allied with a very true bounce giving him plenty of time to unleash off the ground, particularly off the forehand side. Fucsovics has a solid record in Australia and some power of his own, but he is not going to win a firefight with the Italian and does not cover the court well enough to grind Sinner down either.
Prediction: Sinner in 3
Mackenzie McDonald vs Yoshihito Nishioka
Glenys:
Be honest! Who had McDonald beating Nadal? What a shock that was. The American scalped the defending champion and top seed. McDonald will be full of confidence now, but there is also the very big risk of “seed syndrome”, completely being flat and capitulating in the next match.
Nishioka will be favourite going into this match as the seeded player. However, the Japanese will not take this for granted, especially with how his opponent played against Nadal last round. Nishioka has eased through his first two matches, and will now have an “easier” route to round four than had he been facing the top seed.
Prediction: Nishioka in 4
Jakub:
McDonald comes off a brilliant performance that took out a limited Rafael Nadal. Nishioka has dominated the head-to-head 4-1 though, including a comfortable 6-4 6-3 win in Adelaide two weeks ago. I expect a hard-fought battle like the two had in the 2019 Roland Garros first round, though this time I believe McDonald will win.
Prediction: McDonald in 5
Jim:
How will McDonald respond after his straight-sets victory over the defending champion (and all-time great) Rafael Nadal? It will be interesting to see. This is not a good matchup for a player in his position though. Nishioka is in great form and has a similar skillset to the American, but probably with more upside.
Prediction: Nishioka in 4
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Francisco Cerundolo
Glenys:
Felix Auger-Aliassime has struggled so far here. Two long matches, with a four setter then a five setter have not been the ideal start for the Canadian. However, after coming back from two sets down last round the Canadian looks to be playing his way in to the event. This can backfire and the sixth seed needs to be on guard.
Cerundolo has had a slightly easier route so far. A straight sets win in the first round, with a four set win last time out will be good for the Argentine. Both seeded players will want to move on in the event and the Argentine is certainly a threat for the Canadian.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 4
Jakub:
Auger-Aliassime started very slow against both Vasek Pospisil and Alex Molcan but got into his rhythm and stepped up on serve by the end of both matches. Cerundolo is the seed you want to see in your section on hard courts. The Argentine has enjoyed a softer draw to make the third round, beating Guido Pella coming off a long injury layoff and a not fully fit Corentin Moutet. The Canadian might have a slower start again but I would be shocked if Cerundolo comes away with the win here.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 4
Jim:
Auger-Aliassime was a long way short of a gallop against Alex Molcan, but the Canadian deserves credit for the manner in which he recovered against the Slovenian. Whether that was a needed wake-up call or just a bad day at the office (they can happen), expect him to bounce back against Cerundolo.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 3
Daniil Medvedev vs Sebastian Korda
Glenys:
Medvedev has made fairly light work of opponents to make the third round. The seventh seed lost only three games in the first round, but was made to work a bit by Millman in the first set. Once that was out the way Medvedev got his brain in gear and eased through the remaining sets. The seventh seed needs to hit the ground running in the next match
Korda needed four sets in the first round to get through and although managed straight sets against Watanuki, it wasn’t as straight forward as the three sets suggested. The American will need to bring another gear and much better shots to over come Medvedev
Prediction: Korda in 5
Jakub:
One of the most exciting matches of the day. Medvedev has been a man on a mission so far in Melbourne, not dropping a set against Marcos Giron or John Millman. After making back-to-back finals here, the draw has opened up for the Russian with Rafael Nadal now out of his quarter. Adelaide finalist Korda has also performed well so far and will be Medvedev’s toughest test by far. The pair faced off at the Paris Masters in 2021 where Medvedev won from a set down. I see Medvedev winning here again.
Prediction: Medvedev in 4
Jim:
This will be Medvedev’s first real test of the Australian Open after comfortable wins over Marcos Giron and John Millman. The different between those opponents and Korda is that Korda has the power to really test Medvedev. But it is a test that the Russian should expect to pass.
Prediction: Medvedev in 4
Main Photo from Getty.
