The men’s first round continues on Day 2 of the Australian Open. We will be treated to 28 great matches, and as always our writers here at LWOT share our thoughts on them with you. We split all the day’s matches between this and six other articles. Those articles feature Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Zizou Bergs, Andy Murray vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Alex de Minaur vs Milos Raonic, Hubert Hurkacz vs Omar Jasika, Daniil Medvedev vs Terence Atmane, and Ben Shelton vs Roberto Bautista Agut. Predicting these matches are Glenys Furness, Damian Kust, and Yesh Ginsburg. Who do you think will move on to the second round in Melbourne?
Australian Open Day 2 Men’s Predictions
Lorenzo Musetti vs Benjamin Bonzi
Glenys:
The Italian is seeded here at the Open, although Musetti has not had the best of starts. He did make the quarterfinal in Adeleide but should have done better. Bonzi has lost in the first round at his first two events of the year. That won’t change here.
Prediction: Musetti in 3
Damian:
Musetti peaked around the spring/summer of last year and it’s been a very mediocre patch for him since. He’s not one of the strongest seeds, but it still takes a decent level to beat him. Bonzi is out of the top 100 now and that’s mostly due to injuries. It doesn’t seem like he’s completely out of the woods match rhythm-wise yet.
Prediction: Musetti in 4
Yesh:
Musetti has sometimes-quietly made himself into a top player. Bonzi looked headed that way a year ago, but he never made the jump in 2023. Expect the Italian to just be better.
Prediction: Musetti in 4
Alexei Popyrin vs Marc Polmans
Glenys:
Battle of the Australians. Neither has had a great start to the season and they haven’t played each other before. The crowd will be behind both of them, as they will be guaranteed an Aussie in the second round.
Prediction: Polmans in 4
Damian:
There’s a fair bit of pressure on Popyrin to win this one, especially after a career-best season last year and with a potential meeting with Djokovic ahead. Polmans can be a tricky customer but it seems like the quality gap should be a bit too big, the lower-ranked Aussie also doesn’t have that ability to redline and take the racket out of his opponent’s hands.
Prediction: Popyrin in 4
Yesh:
Popyrin had massive potential but hasn’t yet realized it. He plays his best tennis in Australia, though, and I’d expect him to find his serve and aggressive game this fortnight.
Prediction: Popyrin in 4
Christopher Eubanks vs Taro Daniel
Glenys:
American Eubanks has not had the best of starts to the season, but is the higher ranked player. However, Japanese Daniel is coming to the Grand Slam off the back of a runner up spot last week. Daniel will have confidence that he can replicate the run here, although unlikely to progress to the final.
Prediction: Daniel in 4
Damian:
Eubanks isn’t holding up at Tour-level at all since the grass season and will be defending himself from some massive falls in the rankings later in the year. Could this be a rare win? Absolutely with Daniel likely a bit tired after Auckland plus the courts playing to the American’s liking, especially the all-power no-spin forehand.
Prediction: Eubanks in 5
Yesh:
Chris Eubanks might not ever replicate his Wimbledon run from last year again, but that taste of Major success often leads to more. Expect his big serve to carry him through this match.
Prediction: Eubanks in 4
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Dominic Thiem
Glenys:
An inauspicious start for both to the new season. Thiem qualified for Brisbane, but then drew Nadal on his comeback from injury, the Spaniard won and went on to the quarterfinal. Auger-Aliassime was seeded at the ASB but lost in the first round. The Canadian will want to make an impact in Australia so will want to take the win. Thiem actually leads the head to head.
Prediction: Thiem in 5
Damian:
The names are big, but will the quality deliver? Auger-Aliassime was a mess in Auckland, while Thiem is still all about these flashes of brilliance but can’t seem to get it going on a regular basis. This is actually fairly winnable for the Austrian, he’ll need to be returning a lot better than he was in Brisbane against Nadal though.
Prediction: Thiem in 5
Yesh:
We have some incredible first-round matchups, and this might be among the best. Of course, Thiem still can’t find anything near a pre-injury form, so this one will likely disappoint. But if Thiem can find his peak once again, expect a classic.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 4
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
