{"id":96055,"date":"2026-01-18T10:10:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T15:10:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=96055"},"modified":"2026-01-18T10:10:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T15:10:38","slug":"australian-open-day-2-mens-predictions-wawrinka-djere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2026\/01\/18\/australian-open-day-2-mens-predictions-wawrinka-djere\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Open Day 2 Men’s Predictions Including Stan Wawrinka vs Laslo Djere"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 2 of the Australian Open sees most of the first round completed, with a whopping 28 men’s singles matches on the cards. As always, our writers here at LastWordOnTennis share their thoughts on the matches with you. We split the 28 matches between seven articles. In addition to this article, the others feature Novak Djokovic vs Pedro Martinez<\/a>, Daniil Medvedev vs Jesper de Jong<\/a>, Tommy Paul vs Aleksandar Kovacevic<\/a>, Andrey Rublev vs Matteo Arnaldi<\/a>, Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Nuno Borges<\/a>, and Denis Shapovalov vs Yunchaokete Bu<\/a>. Predicting these matches are Tope Oke, Zain Mustafa, and Ilemona Onekutu. Who do you think will win?<\/p>\n

Australian Open Day 2 Predictions<\/h2>\n

Casper Ruud vs Mattia Bellucci<\/h4>\n

Tope:<\/em>
\nCasper Ruud has already lost two matches this season after beating Alex de Minaur in the United Cup. Regardless, he will still have too much quality against the inconsistent Italian, Bellucci, who has won just once in his last seven matches.
\nPrediction: Ruud in 3<\/em><\/p>\n

Zain:<\/em>
\nRuud has had a strange start to 2026 after an up-and-down 2025 season. The Norwegian hasn’t had much success down under in his career, and Bellucci can make this match tight. But I still think Ruud should have enough baseline stability to win this one.
\nPrediction: Ruud in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

Ilemona:<\/em>
\nBellucci\u2019s flair is dangerous, but Ruud\u2019s depth and court positioning should force longer rallies than Bellucci prefers. That reliability should carry him through.
\nPrediction: Ruud in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

Valentin Vacherot vs Martin Damm<\/h4>\n

Tope:<\/em>
\nValentin Vacherot\u2019s giant strides in 2025 rightly place him as the favourite against Martin Damm, with whom he was ranked closely this time last season. The Monegasque’s big serve may eventually pull him through, but don\u2019t be surprised if the American wins this, too. He\u2019s shown he is capable in the qualifiers.
\nPrediction: Damm in 5<\/em><\/p>\n

Zain:<\/em>
\nVacherot has now shown that his level in that tournament run in Shanghai was once-in-a-lifetime stuff. Damm showed some great tennis in qualifying, which should make this a closely contested match.
\nPrediction: Vacherot in 5<\/em><\/p>\n

Ilemona:<\/em>
\nDamm\u2019s athleticism and serve give him weapons, but Vacherot\u2019s cleaner baseline patterns may prove more dependable. Expect the steadier hand to prevail.
\nPrediction: Vacherot in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Jacob Fearnley vs Kamil Majchrzak<\/h4>\n

Tope:<\/em>
\nA year ago, Jacob Fearnley would have been the favorite heading into this encounter, but things are much different now, with the Englishman struggling for consistency, coinciding with the time Majchrzak is showing signs of recovery from the injuries that plagued him for most of last season. I expect the Pole to eke out a solid statement win here to level their head-to-head.
\nPrediction: Majchrzak in 3<\/em><\/p>\n

Zain:<\/em>
\nThis matchup will quite likely be determined by which player has the more productive serving day. Apart from that, Majchrzak just has the upside in his groundstrokes that Fearnley does not, which makes him my pick to win this one.
\nPrediction: Majchrzak in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

Ilemona:<\/em>
\nFearnley\u2019s aggressive instincts and willingness to step forward suit the conditions well. If he maintains first-serve pressure, he can keep Majchrzak on the back foot.
\nPrediction: Fearnley in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

Stan Wawrinka vs Laslo Djere<\/h4>\n

Tope:<\/em>
\nWith two players who will have question marks about their fitness the longer the match goes on, I\u2019ll lean towards the more reliable Wawrinka, who will be looking to end his final Australian Open<\/a> on a high.
\nPrediction: Wawrinka in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

Zain:<\/em>
\nIn his last-ever<\/a> Australian Open, 2014 champion Wawrinka enters this match with enough match practice in recent weeks to make a real push. Djere, while a solid baseliner, does not quite have the endurance of years past, and I think Wawrinka could prolong his stay in Melbourne by a few days if he stays aggressive and rides the crowd energy.
\nPrediction: Wawrinka in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

Ilemona:<\/em>
\nDjere\u2019s consistency could test Wawrinka physically, but the faster surface favors Wawrinka\u2019s ability to finish points with authority. If his timing holds up, he should edge it.
\nPrediction: Wawrinka in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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