The second round of men’s singles starts on Day 4 of the Australian Open. We get 16 matches as players look to move on to Round 3. Which players will those be? As always, our writers here at LWOT share their thoughts. We split the day’s matches between this and three other articles. Those articles feature Novak Djokovic vs Alexei Popyrin, Frances Tiafoe vs Tomas Machac, and Andrey Rublev vs Christopher Eubanks. Predicting these matches are Jack Edward, Jordan Reynolds, Damian Kust, and Tope Oke.
Australian Open Day 4 Men’s Predictions
Christopher O’Connell vs Ben Shelton
Jack:
Shelton may not be as sure a bet to go deep at the tournament as some may think–parts of the American’s game still fairly underdeveloped. I still consider an average day at the office for him to be enough to beat O’Connell but keep an eye on him as the tournament progresses.
Prediction: Shelton in 3
Jordan:
The key for Shelton is to stay focused in this one. He is the more talented of the players by far, but O’Connell is a very solid all-round player. The Australian is likely to stay at a consistent level throughout, and Shelton needs to have no lapses. But I expect the young star to manage that.
Prediction: Shelton in 4
Damian:
Shelton was a lot more patient with his returning in the opening round than in Auckland last week. We all know he can raise his game on the big stage as well. There will be tougher tests coming up for him soon with potentially Mannarino and Djokovic, but he should keep going for now.
Prediction: Shelton in 4
Tope:
There’s not much to say here. Christopher O’Connell will have the home fans behind him but their support won’t be enough to propel him to victory. Ben Shelton will unleash winners from his devastating left hand to move into the next round.
Prediction: Shelton in 4
Alex de Minaur vs Matteo Arnaldi
Jack:
I don’t think Arnaldi’s reached his peak yet—he’s currently #41 in the world and rising fast. De Minaur is in unflinching form, however. This will be an extremely tough second round for the Aussie but one that he should emerge from victorious.
Prediction: de Minaur in 5
Jordan:
Arnaldi has improved a lot on hard courts, and de Minaur cannot afford any complacency here. Both men play with a lot of intensity, and there will be a lot of long rallies in this clash. But de Minaur does remain the better hard court player, and he has the support of the crowd to help him as well.
Prediction: de Minaur in 3
Damian:
This is one of the matches of the round for sure. Arnaldi just looks like a straight-up main tour player right now and provides an extremely complete skillset with the defensive ability backed up by a strong serve and forehand shotmaking. It’s a better package than de Minaur’s in some ways, but the Australian is high on confidence too and he loves playing at home.
Prediction: de Minaur in 5
Tope:
Something tells me Alex de Minaur will carry the Australian flag quite far in this championship but he has to navigate this tricky match against Matteo Arnaldi. The young Italian had a breakthrough season last year and he enjoyed his debut here with an imposing win over Adam Walton. An upset is possible but De Minaur has defeated the likes of Taylor Fritz, Novak Djokovic, and Alexander Zverev this year and with the crowd behind him, he should win this from the baseline.
Prediction: de Minaur in 5
Sebastian Korda vs Quentin Halys
Jack:
It’s tough to say for sure how Sebi Korda will play from match to match. His style of play is pretty risky and it leads to the odd surprising loss. Whilst Halys has been in bad form, I have a funny feeling about this match, especially given Korda’s struggles in five against Kopriva.
Prediction: Halys in 4
Jordan:
Korda needed five sets to beat Vit Kopriva, who was making his first Grand Slam main draw appearance, while Halys won his first Australian Open match since 2016 in the opening round. The level of Korda is stronger if he can get close to it. I cannot imagine the American playing like the first round again, where he was far below his best despite winning. Expect a better and winning performance from Korda here.
Prediction: Korda in 3
Damian:
Korda looked really shaky in the opener vs Vit Kopriva, almost blowing a two sets to love lead against a player with little hard court experience. This definitely isn’t the Korda that was one of the hottest prospects on tour in January last year. Halys played one of his best matches in a while in the first round and with that big-hitting style, he’ll be a threat here.
Prediction: Halys in 5
Tope:
Quentin Halys had only once in ten attempts before he upset Lloyd Harris in the first round with the aid of three tiebreakers. Sebastian Korda too had to hold his nerve to fend off a determined fight from Vit Kopriva to edge the match in five sets. The American is the superior player and if he can secure a couple of breaks, he will close the tie out.
Prediction: Korda in 4
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jordan Thompson
Jack:
It’s so difficult to have faith in Tsitsipas looking at his results over the past few months. The Australian Open is undoubtedly one of his most comfortable tournaments, however, and, for all his losses, he doesn’t tend to lose against the meat-and-potatoes serve-and-forehands of the tour. He should beat Thompson here relatively comfortably.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 4
Jordan:
Last year’s runner-up overcame a slow start to come through comfortably against Zizou Bergs, while Thompson had a five-set battle with Aleksandar Vukic. The Australian will need to serve excellently and effectively target the Tsitsipas backhand to win, but I struggle to see him resisting the Greek in a best-of-five set match. Tsitsipas to prevail, but losing a set along the way.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 4
Damian:
It’s tough to say much about Tsitsipas’s form so far as he was getting outplayed by Zizou Bergs for a set and then put in a professional effort with the Belgian fading away physically. But at least the back didn’t seem to be bothering him all that much, so he should beat Thompson even with the Australian being in the form of his life.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 4
Tope:
Stefanos Tsitsipas was made to jump-start his game after losing the first set to Lucky Loser Zizou Bergs. It was smooth sailing from then on as the Greek broke his opponent seven times to coast to an easy win. He is up against homeboy Jordan Thompson who must still be reeling from his lengthy match against his compatriot Alexander Vukic. If Tsitsipas can replicate his first-round performance, he will win this.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 4
Main Photo Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
