{"id":54201,"date":"2023-01-16T08:24:11","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T13:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=54201"},"modified":"2023-01-16T12:15:59","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T17:15:59","slug":"australian-open-predictions-fritz-vs-basilashvili","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2023\/01\/16\/australian-open-predictions-fritz-vs-basilashvili\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Open Day 2 Predictions Including Taylor Fritz vs Nikoloz Basilashvili"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>American Taylor Fritz has to fancy his chances at the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/category\/australian-open\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Australian Open<\/a> this year, he&#8217;ll start his tournament against Nikoloz Basilashvili. Our Last Word on Tennis writers have complete coverage of the tournament, and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/category\/predictions\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">predictions for every day 2 match<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Taylor Fritz vs Nikoloz Basilashvili<\/h3>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1405389367\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.66667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/1405389367?et=IWlLZ7xqS7V7sdz0U9i6BQ&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=uXljh2G1SQJX4U42t4nr8EPruVmUbDHA3GAfSqQqQ94=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Damian Kust: Fritz has a golden shot at another deep Slam run here, finding himself in Ruud&#8217;s quarter. This could be competitive if Basilashvili brings his best, but it feels like ages since the Georgian was a threat. <strong>Fritz in 4<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yesh Ginsburg: Fritz is fresh off a career best season and should be looking forward to starting another on a good note. The American is in solid form and the better player in this matchup. <strong>Fritz in 3<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Shane Black: Seeded 8th, Taylor Fritz has high hopes in Melbourne. He looked very solid in lead-up wins over Matteo Berrettini, Hubert Hurkacz, and Alexander Zverev. His round-one opponent, Nikoloz Basilashvili, can be lethal when in form. That said, the Georgian is just 4-12 since Wimbledon and will not have an answer for Fritz\u2019s consistency. <strong>Fritz in 3<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Mattia Bellucci vs Benjamin Bonzi<\/h3>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1424626686\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 60.269363% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/1424626686?et=ng23HUgfQ7hWQjNog9U32w&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=JLCunYp_gPcA2z6LOBcTfV9L_Al5g75ZV9EV2Pb0NSQ=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" width=\"594\" height=\"358\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Damian: Bellucci was awesome in the qualifying and in a couple of years, he&#8217;ll be a brilliant addition to the ATP Tour. The question is whether at the highest level he won&#8217;t get overpowered and won&#8217;t be allowed to use his creativity. Bonzi is not the kind of opponent who will blow him off the court, but he is likely powerful enough to win.<strong> Bonzi in 4<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yesh: Bonzi is a lot of fun, and his serve should respond well to this surface. His form hasn&#8217;t been his best recently, but he has a good draw here. <strong>Bonzi in 3<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Shane: Benjamin Bonzi looked terrific in his run to the Pune final. He looks comfortable to start the season and should be able to dictate this match against the 21-year-old Italian. <strong>Bonzi in 4<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Enzo Couacaud vs Hugo Dellien<\/h3>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1405451799\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 67.34007% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/1405451799?et=ymhzdoiGSo1s3yzbXhhJ5Q&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=lWeQBjCh-8QhyRcVrb-JcUPxaya5GbuE7teAlJgX7sg=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" width=\"594\" height=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Damian: What a draw for Couacaud. Dellien has an 8-23 outdoor hard court record and hasn&#8217;t played since June due to an elbow injury. The Frenchman qualified for the last three Slams and perhaps this is his reward. <strong>Couacaud in 4<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yesh: This would be a great match on clay. Couacaud looked decent in qualifying, so I&#8217;ll go with him for now.<strong> Couacaud in 5<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Shane: Enzo Couacaud took all nine sets to get through his three qualifying matches. He is a solid hardcourt player who has won ten of his last 12 matches dating back to last year. Hugo Dellien is a very consistent player, but I do not think he has the weapons to win this match. <strong>Couacaud in 5<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Nicolas Jarry vs Miomir Kecmanovic<\/h3>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1198147536\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.66667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/1198147536?et=4SiAAEnqQNpvHikIFA6iPw&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=EyWmuOaQ0Icid9FqxBZKqXPgqfiHw1lV5JBE0nF1Puk=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Damian: Jarry can always keep things close if the serve is firing, pretty much regardless of the opponent. Kecmanovic has probably started his year a bit too well, but it&#8217;s a matchup where he won&#8217;t get much rhythm and that can always get tricky. <strong>Kecmanovic in 4<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yesh: Jarry is nowhere near what he once seemed to have the potential for. It&#8217;s really a sad note about a career that never took off. Kecmanovic is inconsistent, but he&#8217;s the better player right now. <strong>Kecmanovic in 4<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Shane: Miomir Kecmanovic had a career year in 2022 and has proven he is a top 30 player in the sport. The slick courts should play into his game as he looks to dictate play against Nicolas Jarry. <strong>Kecmanovic in 4<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1453683942\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.66667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/1453683942?et=Rhzi8wUJQjJI1rYrRRT6dw&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=KTIE8RPw2O1T45z0wbSW_xHf7CpL7FiKycXCdv0O5AU=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>American Taylor Fritz has to fancy his chances at the Australian Open this year, he&#8217;ll start his tournament against Nikoloz Basilashvili. Our Last Word on Tennis writers have complete coverage of the tournament, and predictions for every day 2 match. Taylor Fritz vs Nikoloz Basilashvili Embed from Getty Images Damian Kust: Fritz has a golden [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4067,"featured_media":54203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[18497,12813,4657,205,2363,10889,15823,10647,15936,4824,15733,18322,18520,4359,15507,986,17268,3515,15613,347,15712,2373,2369],"class_list":["post-54201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-predictions","tag-2023-australian-open","tag-atp-picks","tag-atp-predictions","tag-australian-open","tag-australian-open-predictions","tag-benjamin-bonzi","tag-benjamin-bonzi-predictions","tag-enzo-couacaud","tag-enzo-couacaud-predictions","tag-hugo-dellien","tag-hugo-dellien-predictions","tag-mattia-bellucci","tag-mattia-bellucci-predictions","tag-miomir-kecmanovic","tag-miomir-kecmanovic-predictions","tag-nicolas-jarry","tag-nicolas-jarry-predictions","tag-nikoloz-basilashvili","tag-nikoloz-basilashvili-predictions","tag-taylor-fritz","tag-taylor-fritz-predictions","tag-tennis-picks","tag-tennis-predictions"],"modified_by":"Jim Smith","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4067"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}