We are down to the last eight at the Australian Open as the quarterfinals wrap up on Day 11 in Melbourne. Two blockbuster matchups are on the slate as No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev takes on No. 9 seed Hubert Hurkacz and No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz squares off against No. 6 seed Alexander Zverev. As always, we at LWOT have our roundtable preview and predictions for each match. Offering their thoughts on these two quarterfinal bouts are Shane Black, Jack Edward, Yesh Ginsburg, Damian Kust, and Jordan Reynolds.<\/p>\n
View our women’s quarterfinal predictions, including Qinwen Zheng vs Anna Kalinskaya, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Head-to-Head:<\/strong> Medvedev 2-3 Hurkacz<\/p>\n Shane:<\/strong> Jack:<\/strong> Yesh:<\/strong> Damian:<\/strong> Jordan:<\/strong>Australian Open Men’s Quarterfinal Predictions<\/h2>\n
Daniil Medvedev vs Hubert Hurkacz<\/h4>\n
\nHurkacz holds a very impressive 20-6 record since the 2023 US Open. The 26-year-old Pole has not had the toughest route to the quarterfinals, but his ability to hold serve and raise his level in tiebreaks is impressive. Medvedev will look to neutralize the big serve of Hurkacz by standing his typical eight feet behind the baseline<\/a> on return. Hurkacz has won their last two meetings (in straights!), but I struggle to see him finding a way past what will be a fresh and motivated Medvedev.
\nPrediction: Medvedev in 4<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
\nHurkacz has come through a sneakily good draw and it\u2019s all thanks to an unwaveringly powerful first serve\u2014he\u2019s won 84% of his first serve points this week, more than anybody else left in the draw. Even Medvedev has struggled with the Hurkacz serve in the past, having lost three of their five meetings. Regardless of how close it is though, on a hard court, over five sets, I think Medvedev\u2019s resum\u00e9 speaks for itself.
\nPrediction: Medvedev in 4<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
\nDaniil Medvedev has looked iffy at times this event, but the courts suit him and his game is just brutal for opponents. I don’t think Hurkacz quite has the capability to overpower him, which means the Russian should win as this draws out.
\nPrediction: Medvedev in 4<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
\nHurkacz leads the head-to-head 3-2 and easily could have taken their meeting in Canada too. It\u2019s a quirky matchup with both players falling into the big server\/counter-puncher mold, but of course executing it in very different manners. The flat backhand of the Pole can bother Medvedev and some of the forehand hitting against Arthur Cazaux was the absolute best he can muster. His serve can make any match close and this one likely will be no different.
\nPrediction: Hurkacz in 5<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
\nHurkacz\u2019s game is dangerous in any conditions and on any surface. But I feel the Rod Laver conditions will help Medvedev here. The 2021 US Open champion usually prefers faster hard courts, but the slow conditions on Rod Laver Arena should assist him more in this matchup. Expect Medvedev to get enough returns into play and grind Hurkacz down to reach the semifinal.
\nPrediction: Medvedev in 4<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n