The final week of Australian Open preparation begins on Monday in Adelaide, where home favorite Thanasi Kokkinakis faces Sebastian Korda. Valentin Vacherot kicks off his campaign against Miomir Kecmanovic.
Thanasi Kokkinakis vs. Sebastian Korda
Korda and Kokkinakis will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers when they clash in round one of the Adelaide International on Monday night. All three of their previous meetings have gone Korda’s way — all on hard courts in the United States. Their most recent showdown was a memorable thriller, in which the American famously saved a match point in miracle fashion in round two of Washington, D.C. in 2024…and went on to win the entire tournament.
Kokkinakis has home-court advantage this time around, which has certainly helped him in Adelaide over the years. The 29-year-old Australian is 14-4 lifetime in this city with a title in 2022 and two other semifinal showings. Unfortunately for Kokkinakis, he has not played a singles match since the 2025 Aussie Open due to recurring injury problems. The world No. 450 played two decent doubles matches with Nick Kyrgios in Brisbane, but that hardly confirms that he is ready to go for singles in Adelaide.
Pick: Korda in 2
Miomir Kecmanovic vs. (5) Valentin Vacherot
As recently as a few months ago, nobody could have expected that Vacherot would be seeded at ATP-level tournaments in 2026 — especially as early as January. But that is the reality following Vacherot’s shocking Masters 1000 title in Shanghai followed by a quarterfinal performance in Paris. The world No. 31 from Monaco lost his opening match of this year to Korda in Brisbane.
Up first for Vacherot on Monday is Kecmanovic, whom he has never faced. The 51st-ranked Serb struggled in 2025, compiling a 24-28 record. He at least managed to capture a title in Delray Beach, but that was back in February. Kecmanovic’s recent struggles continued with a straight-set loss to Alexandre Muller in the Hong Kong opening round, so a much more confident Vacherot should have the edge in this matchup.
Pick: Vacherot in 3
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Agree!
Korda in 2; Kec in 3