Daniil Medvedev vs Nick Kyrgios is a matchup you would expect to see in the later rounds of a Grand Slam, but at the Australian Open it’s on offer in the second round as the home Australian looks to upset the tournament’s top ranked player Medvedev. Our panelists offer all their predictions for day 4 action and we also have predictions for matches featuring Jannik Sinner, Andy Murray, Marin Cilic, and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Daniil Medvedev vs Nick Kyrgios
Ryan Schick: This has to be the most exciting match of the round. Medvedev is the clear favorite to win the tournament but will have to get past Kyrgios and what is sure to be a passionate home crowd. After playing almost no tennis Kyrgios looked surprisingly strong in round one. Kyrgios has an impressive 2-0 record against the Russia, but they have not faced each other since 2019. Medvedev is arguably the best hard court player in the world right now for a reason, and Kyrgios will get some momentum and take a set but Medvedev will win the match. Medvedev in 4
Damian Kust: This can be great if Nick Kyrgios plays his best and his opening round against Liam Broady certainly makes you think he possibly can. Still, winning a best-of-five match against the powerhouse that Daniil Medvedev is right now seems too much, especially as his fitness will be really questioned. Medvedev in 4
Johnny Connell: There’s a lot of hype surrounding this matchup, but I doubt it will live up to expectations. This should be a Medvedev beatdown. Kyrgios looked good against Broady, but this is a whole new level of opposition. Kyrgios will need to serve a heap of aces just to make this competitive. Once Medvedev gets into a rally he is highly unlikely to lose many points in this matchup. Medvedev will also thrive in a hostile or pro-Kyrgios atmosphere created by the crowd. Medvedev in 3
Harsh Bhoot: Easily the most watchable second round. Also very easily could the match that fails to live up to its expectations. Kyrgios has beaten Medvedev in both their previous meetings but this is a far better Medvedev and on the hard courts in Melbourne, Kyrgios is going to find it extremely tough to get past Medvedev. Expect the Aussie to throw everything and the Russian staying true to his nature absorbing everything. Medvedev in 4
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Dan Evans vs Arthur Rinderknech
Ryan: Evans looked great in round one with a dominant win over Goffin. He showed his potential last year and is a dark horse to make a deep run here with a powerful game that can trouble the top players in the world. Rinderknech is a strong player and improved a lot last year but struggled in the first round more than he should have. Evans is simply the better player and with the added advantage of fresher legs will have no problem winning easily. Evans in 3
Damian: Both players are enjoying a great start to the year. Dan Evans only lost to Aslan Karatsev so far and he should be able to take out a possibly washed out Arthur Rinderknech, who had a deep run the week before and played a five-setter against Alexei Popyrin here. Evans in 4
Johnny: Evans and Rinderknech both arrived in Melbourne in strong form. A semi-final showing for Evans in Sydney, a runner-up appearance in Adelaide for the Frenchman. Rinderknech required five sets to get the better of Popyrin the opening round in what was an intense battle. I suspect Rinderknech is running on fumes at the moment and ripe for the picking. Evans is a tricky customer and looks poised to exploit the Frenchman’s fatigue in this matchup. Evans in 3
Harsh: Evans has had a pretty solid start by demolishing a tricky player in Goffin. Rinderknech is a decent player himself and showed that by beating Popyrin but he’ll struggle to execute his game plans against Evans. The Brit looks eager in 2022 and expect him to continue progressing here. Evans in 3
Roberto Bautista Agut vs Philipp Kohlschreiber
Ryan: RBA looks to once again be ready for a season of solid, consistent tennis as he has done for so many years. He had an excellent start to the year at the ATP cup, beating Hurkacz and Ruud and going 4-1 for the week. Kohlschreiber shows flashes of brilliance occasionally, but at age 38 he is not the player he once was. RBA is excellent on hard courts and Kohlschreiber will not be able to deal with his strong baseline play and high level of fitness. Bautista Agut in 3
Damian: Should be relatively straightforward. Roberto Bautista Agut is in great form again and Philipp Kohlschreiber is now significantly further away from his peak than the Spaniard. Bautista Agut in 3
Johnny: Kohlschreiber was lucky enough to draw a struggling Cecchinato in the first round, he made the most of that draw but Is not going any further in the draw. Bautista Agut has made a bright start to the season. Bautista Agut helped Spain reach the ATP Cup final and an easy enough opening round win in Melbourne over Travaglia. Bautista Agut will be too solid in this matchup, Kohlschreiber can’t hang with the Spaniard from the back of the court over five sets. Bautista Agut in 3
Harsh: Not much has been said about Bautista Agut even though he’s the 15th seed and plays his best on a hard court. The Spaniard would like to fly under the radar and keep notching up wins to get another deep run at a Grand Slam. The next man standing in his way is the still very dangerous Kohlschreiber. The German is 38 years old but has enough variety and guile to stand up to the very best. Expect a long hard fought battle with Bautista Agut just managing to scrape through. Bautista Agut in 5
Frances Tiafoe vs Taylor Fritz
Ryan: The all-American matchup will be intriguing because it could truly go either way. Tiafoe is a big match player and fans have seen that numerous times with great performances in grand slams. He can also be inconsistent as shown in his first round match where Marco Trungellliti took him to five sets in a match he should have been able to win in straights. Fritz is a solid player and managed to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime to start the year and won easily in the first round. If Tiafoe plays his best tennis it will be enough to beat Fritz, but Fritz simply has the better game and will win a back-and-forth match. Fritz in 5
Damian: Form-wise, a huge advantage goes to Taylor Fritz. Frances Tiafoe lost both his matches in the warm-ups and had a very tough time pulling through Marco Trungelliti. Fritz in 4
Johnny: One of the toughest second round matches in the draw. Both players would be aiming to reach at least the second week so there’s a lot on the line here. I’ll give the slight edge to Fritz because of his brighter recent form and his more consistent level over a five set match. Tiafoe’s serve can go missing at times, that’s problematic in a matchup like this. Fritz is good enough to capitalize on return if Tiafoe is off and will give Tiafoe few chances in his own service games. Fritz in 4
Harsh: Fritz should like his chances to have a decent outing in Melbourne. Last year he was scintillating in stretching Djokovic to five sets and this year he’s started in the same vein. Tiafoe has just fallen away after a couple of good years on tour and should struggle to find his way past the consistent Fritz. Fritz in 4
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