The second round of the Australian Open kicks off on Day 4 with 16 men’s singles matches. No. 6 seed Casper Ruud squares off against the upset-minded Jakub Mensik. Our other prediction sets feature Novak Djokovic vs Jaime Faria, Carlos Alcaraz vs Yoshihito Nishioka and Kei Nishikori vs Tommy Paul. Predicting these matches are Ateet Shrivastava, Damian Kust and Steen Kirby. Who do you think will advance?
Australian Open Day 4 Men’s Predictions
Arthur Fils vs Quentin Halys
Ateet
This all-French encounter looks lopsided on paper. Fils is coming off a terrific season where he established himself as a bonafide top 25 player. He should continue to get more dangerous as the Australian Open progresses.
Prediction: Fils in 3
Damian
Fils posted such an impressive win against Virtanen, showing a lot of mental strength and an ability to use a back-up plan. He’s going to need these skills in Melbourne as his draw is straight out of hell. This is just another matchup against a power-player, maybe the experience from the previous round can help.
Prediction: Fils in 4
Steen
The 20 year old Fils is playing well, he takes on his countryman Halys who is more experienced but a bit of a journeyman, Fils has high expectations but can’t take anything for granted. He should get the job done.
Prediction: Fils in 3
Reilly Opelka vs Tomas Machac
Ateet
Reilly Opelka was far from 100% fit in the first round but found a way to win the match. Serve was sublime after the first set and did the job for him. He will need to return better against Machac, who will pounce on any openings he gets. I have Machac winning this as I am not too sure about Opelka’s fitness.
Prediction: Machac in 5
Damian
One of these will likely play Djokovic in the next round and they both beat him somewhat recently, which makes this encounter very intriguing. Both were also under health question marks coming into this event and comparing how they did in their openers, Machac seems like more of a sure thing. He’s also good at handling big serves.
Prediction: Machac in 4
Steen
34-25 last year with an ATP final, Machac is making his mvoe up the rankings, a versatile player, he takes on the big server Opelka who is playing well beyond his ranking. Opelka will push every set to the end, but Machac is a more well rounded player.
Prediction: Machac in 5
Jordan Thompson vs Nuno Borges
Ateet
Both players played brilliantly in the first round and this should be a great match. Borges is not a big server but he served 20 aces in the first round and got broken just once. Thompson was slightly less efficient from the baseline but his variety kept Dominik Koepfer guessing. I see this as a close match but Thompson will have the crowd on his side and that can make a difference.
Prediction: Thompson in 5
Damian
Borges reached the fourth round in Australia last year and clearly feels very comfortable on these courts. It’s tough to say how much Thompson’s recent progress will influence this matchup compared to their previous meetings, seems like the main thing he has over the Portuguese right now is the serving. It’s tight, maybe that’s not quite enough.
Prediction: Borges in 5
Steen
There were questions about Thompson’s health, though he’s one of Australia’s best hopes this tournament and comes off a career year. Borges is also playing some of his best tennis and had a big round 1 win, this is hard to predict, Thompson will have home support but I’m not sold he’s completely fit if pushed.
Prediction: Borges in 4
Casper Ruud vs Jakub Mensik
Ateet
Casper Ruud had a tough first-round encounter against Jaume Munar and he barely escaped. Jakub Mensik will be a lot tougher and Ruud will need to bring his best tennis to win the match. These two have never played before and this is a big match for both players. Mensik has the better backhand while Ruud’s forehand when firing can be world-class. I think Ruud will be up for the challenge and get the job done.
Prediction: Ruud in 5
Damian
This is such a good matchup and the high seed could be in trouble. Ruud was very up and down against Munar in the opening round and that’s just something he won’t be able to afford here. Especially if Mensik finds his incredible serving from a few recent matches (including 31 aces in the opening round) and gets that constant influx of points.
Prediction: Mensik in 5
Steen
Ruud struggled mightily against Jaume Munar and has to be on upset alert here, the teenager Mensik backed up a quarterfinal in Auckland with a valuable GS main draw win, Ruud is the bigger name but he’s playing poorly, Mensik gets the upset.
Prediction: Mensik in 5
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey – USA TODAY Sports
