Auckland is one of the final ATP stops before the big one starts in Melbourne next week. A few players will be up against one another for the first time, including tour-stalwart Gael Monfils’ first round against big-hitter, Fabian Marozsan. As always at LWOT, we’ve tried to predict a few of these first rounds here in Auckland. We also look at the rest of the matches in a separate article.
ATP Auckland Day 1 Predictions
JJ Wolf vs Luca Van Assche
Head-to-head: Wolf 1-0 Van Assche
It’s difficult to say how well JJ Wolf will play from one day to the next. When he’s hot, he’s untouchable but there are days he comes out looking a little sluggish.
Luca Van Assche is turning into a great addition to the ATP but his game is still at an early enough stage that he is a whisker underpowered on a hard court. It’s the start of the year so we’d expect Wolf to be flashy enough to see his opponent off the court.
Prediction: Wolf in 3
Benjamin Bonzi vs Alexandre Muller
Head-to-head: Bonzi 1-0 Muller
A great run to the Marrakech final saw Alexandre Muller join the top 100 but his stay here potentially looks short-lived. He’s won just one of his last eight matches on hard-court with one of those losses coming to Benjamin Bonzi.
Assuming Bonzi is now fighting fit after a difficult year of injury, he has enough talent to take advantage of Muller’s slight passiveness on this surface.
Prediction: Bonzi in 2
Aleksandar Vukic vs Taro Daniel
Head-to-head: Daniel 1-0 Vukic
There’s not much between Taro Daniel and Aleksandar Vukic. Both players are decent servers on a hard court with some decent results to boast about from last year. Daniel is coming into 2024 immediately off the back of three great Challenger runs, however. It’s a bit of a coin toss but the American’s supposed confidence gives him a slight edge here.
Prediction: Daniel in 2
Gael Monfils vs Fabian Marozsan
Head-to-head: First meeting
By all accounts, Gael Monfils had a stellar season last year. He won a title and he took plenty of big names along the way, including De Minaur, Tsitsipas, Norrie, Mannarino, Bublik, and Djere. He could be a bit of a dark horse at the Australian Open provided he’s in full health.
We’ll see after this match. The match up isn’t great–Fabian Marozsan would perhaps prefer to play somebody a touch more predictable to give his own unpredictable aggression a chance. We’ll still give the explosive Hungarian a set but Monfils should take this one if he’s in the form we expect him to be in.
Prediction: Monfils in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
