Sebastian Korda will look for his first ATP tour win over Aleksandar Vukic as the second round kicks off at the Australian Open on Wednesday. American Reilly Opelka will also be in action against upstart Tomas Machac.
(22) Sebastian Korda vs. Aleksandar Vukic
Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic defeated Sebastian Korda in their only previous ATP Tour encounter, a tight three-set match at the Toronto Masters in 2023 when the Aussie was a qualifier. Vukic finished out the 2024 season in impressive fashion after limping through the first half of the campaign. He made the semis in Almaty and the semis at the Taipai Challenger. He is ranked 68th in the world, somewhat off his career high of No. 48. Vukic endured a slog of a five-set win over Damir Dzumhur on Monday.
Korda had a fantastic start to the 2025 season in Adelaide last week. The American made the final, where he lost a three-setter to Felix Auger-Aliassime. Despite the fact that Vukic will have the hometown crowd support, the nod has to go to Korda in this encounter. While he hasn’t had notable success at majors, Korda’s best result of the four has come in Melbourne (2023 quarterfinals). He earned his spot in the second round with a four-set win over Lukas Klein, maintaining momentum from last week.
Cheryl pick: Korda in 4
Ricky pick: Vukic in 5
(26) Tomas Machac vs. Reilly Opelka
A fully healthy Reilly Opelka would make this match one to be watched for an upset. Sadly for the towering American, he is once again not entirely fit. Opelka, who spent nearly two years sidelined with hip and wrist injuries (and surgery recovery), made an impression in Brisbane a couple weeks ago–particularly with his upset win over Novak Djokovic. But he was forced to retire in the final against Jiri Lehecka with wrist problems.
Opelka posted a rain-delayed four-set win in the first round over Gauthier Onclin and claimed to be “feeling okay” in his post-match interview. The problem for Opelka is that Tomas Machac is much more accomplished than the 239th-ranked Onclin. In what was a promising 2024, Machac capped off his year with a run to the semifinals in Shanghai. He will still have to deal with Opelka’s monster first serve in this match, but the world No. 25 should be well-positioned to advance.
Cheryl pick: Machac in 4
Ricky pick: Machac in 5
WWW?
Korda, another player that seems far too casual to me.
There’s relaxed and then there’s too relaxed.
pretty accurate
The problem with being too relaxed is you’re more susceptible to unforced errors when under pressure.
Korda in 3 (believing he’ll get going)
Machac in 4
Korda in 3 is bold
Yes, but didn’t Korda almost win in Adelaide? Adelaide shocked me. FAA and Korda, winner and finalist, or am I dreaming?
I admit that my defense of Seb is weak. Vukic won his match in 5 sets, compared to Seb’s 4 set win over a qualie.
And the truth is, I picked Korda to make three rounds here. That’s way bold.
Korda isn’t a slam player
Korda will step it up vs Vukic and get it done in 3. 🤞🤞
I like Opelka in 4. I see him serving very well and getting minimum 30 aces. I see him winning most of the forehand battles while also managing to force some unforced errors out of Machac. I see 1-2 tiebreakers in this match and I like Opelka to win them all if there does end up being a tiebreaker to decide the set. Another thing to think about is both players fitness level. We just saw Machac was forced to retire against Fritz in the united cup a few weeks back, while also seeing Opelka forced to retire in the Brisbane final against Lehecka. I’m definitely curious to see how Opelka’s body will hold up during a very intense matchup against Machac. I expect to see his back holdup this time as he’s slowly getting acclimated to the brutal schedule of playing a full tennis season after a long hiatus away from the sport battling various injuries. If he can hold up physically this match is his for the taking. I’m definitely looking forward to see how Machac has prepared for this matchup against Opelka leading up to this point after his forced dismissal at the United cup. All in all I expect Opelka to take over this match from the very beginning and assert his dominance with his powerful Serving and his ability to keep the points short after the serve. The 6’11 Opelka can move very well for his size and I expect to see him hit some lazer backhands right down the line while on the run that we’ve been getting used to seeing since his return from injury. I don’t see Machac winning a lot of points against Opelka during the cross court forehand exchanges and neither do I see him winning to many points on the return. With all this Opelka in 4
Korda is NOT too relaxed….he can fight!…and he’ll win in 4….andMahac has too much of an all court game…in 4