The 2024 Slam season is officially upon us as the Australian Open begins on Sunday with 16 ATP singles matches and 16 WTA singles matches. We at LWOT have previews and predictions for every Australian Open match, led by Jannik Sinner vs Botic van de Zandschulp in this article. Damian Kust, Jordan Reynolds, and Shane Black offer their insights and predictions.
Australian Open Day 1 Predictions
Sebastian Baez vs J.J. Wolf
Head-to-Head: Baez 0-1 Wolf
Damian: This looks pretty open with Wolf reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open last year, but struggling for consistency since. It seems like that won’t really change for him over the course of his whole career, but obviously he enjoys these courts a lot. Baez has his hard court flashes from time to time and isn’t as much of a pushover as people think. Slight edge to Wolf. Wolf in 4
Jordan: Both players haven’t started 2024 as they’d hoped, with each losing both of their matches so far. Wolf throughout his career has been the more comfortable on hard courts, although Baez did have a shock run to the title in Winston-Salem last year. But overall, the Melbourne courts probably suit Wolf’s ultra aggressive style slightly more, and give him the edge. Wolf in 4
Shane: Wolf won their only meeting three months ago in Stockholm. Unfortunately for the American, he has started the 2024 season with straight-set losses to James Duckworth and Luca Van Assche. Baez does not hold much better form. He is 0-1 in 2024 and 1-7 dating back to October 2023. Wolf is a better hardcourt player and should come into this match with extra motivation as he looks to backup his fourth round run at the 2023 Aussie Open. Wolf in 5
Daniel Elahi Galan vs Jason Kubler
Head-to-Head: Galan 2-1 Kubler
Damian: Kubler is coming back after some injury issues and needed to rely on a wildcard to get in. The draw was kind to him as he’s facing Galan who might not be among the weakest hard-court players in the field, but is certainly in the bottom half. It should be fairly tight, but especially in Australia Kubler seems to have a pretty clear edge overall. Kubler in 4
Jordan: These two players have also yet to hit the ground running in 2024. Galan failed to get through Brisbane qualifying, while Kubler got through the first-round at the same event via a retirement, before being crushed by Rafael Nadal in the next round. Galan is quite mercurial, capable of flat winners but also performances plagued by unforced errors. Kubler’s more solid approach at his home Grand Slam makes him the favourite. Kubler in 4
Shane: Galan is coming off a career year, reaching a high of world No. 56 in the summer. That said, most of his damage was done on the clay. Galan was just 4-13 on hardcourts in 2023. Kubler won a match in Melbourne last year and will get an extra boost from the Aussie crowd. Kubler should be able to dictate play from the baseline and find his way to a victory. Kubler in 5
Lloyd Harris vs Quentin Halys
Head-to-Head: Harris 1-0 Halys
Damian: Harris was in amazing form in the qualifying and seems to have gotten rid of the injury issues that were hampering him last year. This looks like a massive servefest though and that tends to be quite random. The South African is definitely the in-form player among the two at the moment though and will have all the momentum on his side after smashing through the qualies field. Harris in 4
Jordan: Harris had to come through qualifying, but he did so comprehensively in straight sets in all three matches. Halys came into the draw after the withdrawal of Nadal. However, the Frenchman has only managed one win in six attempts in Melbourne, which was back in 2016. The momentum of Harris and Halys not thriving in the Australian conditions makes the South African the favourite. Harris in 3
Shane: In his return from injury, Harris played well in tournmanet qualies but only notched seven tour-level main draw victories. He progressed through the qualies in Melbourne without dropping a set, striking the ball similarly to his former top 50 level. Halys holds a 1-8 record since Wimbledon. I struggle to see the Frenchman putting together consistent enough tennis to win three sets. Harris in 4
Jannik Sinner vs Botic van de Zandschulp
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Damian: Sinner not playing a warm-up event in the first couple of weeks is a choice that likely won’t impact him that much at the Australian Open, but it obviously would be a massive topic if he lost here. I don’t think that’s quite possible and yet van de Zandschulp is definitely competent enough to come up with some early threats. Let’s say he snatches a set before ultimately going down as expected. Sinner in 4
Jordan: Sinner is one of the players who elected not to play any tournaments before the Australian Open. It’ll be interesting to see if that backfires somewhat and he’s rusty. But he should have enough to beat the Dutchman regardless. Van de Zandschulp was injured for much of last season, and hasn’t found his best tennis yet since then, which he needs to compete against Sinner. Sinner in 3
Shane: Sinner holds the No. 4 seed at this event and comes in as one of the clear contenders. The young Italian ended the 2023 season with a 20-3 record since the US Open. van de Zandschulp had a solid 2023 season and has played well in Melbourne before, but I do not foresee Sinner messing around here. Sinner in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke – USA TODAY Sports
