Rafael Nadal will kick off his Australian campaign when he takes the court against Victor Estrella Burgos on Monday. The opening slate of matches also features Aussie contender Nick Kyrgios, who is going up against Rogerio Dutra Silva.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Victor Estrella Burgos
Nadal and Estrella Burgos will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they clash in round one of the Australian Open on Monday night. It is a favorable draw for Nadal, just as his entire road through the bracket is not a difficult one. The world No. 1’s Melbourne fate will likely be determined by his own performance–or more specifically to his lingering knee issue. He was forced out of the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals after one match also pulled out from scheduled appearances earlier this season in Abu Dhabi and Brisbane. Recent signs, however, have been encouraging. Nadal has played well enough at Kooyong, in the Tie Break Tens event, and in practices to suggest that he may be in line for a second consecutive trip to the Aussie Open title match.
Estrella Burgos has not won an ATP-level match since round one of the 2017 French Open and he has not defeated anyone inside the top 100 at an ATP tournament since last February in Quito. The 81st-ranked Dominican Republic native got blown out by Richard Gasquet 6-0, 6-2 in his Doha opener and he is coming off a 6-2, 6-2 setback against Andreas Seppi in the Canberra Challenger semifinals. Assuming Nadal is close to 100 percent, there is no reason to think Estrella Burgos will be competitive.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 8-10 games
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(17) Nick Kyrgios vs. Rogerio Dutra Silva
Kyrgios is looking like a serious title contender after beginning his season by lifting the Brisbane trophy, taking down world No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov in the process. The 17th-ranked Australian, however, has been a borderline disaster at Grand Slams since reaching the quarterfinals in Melbourne three years ago–one year after advancing to the same stage at Wimbledon. He is just 11-8 at majors in the last two seasons with no trips past the fourth round, including losses in the third round (2016) and second round (2017) of the Australian Open.
Up first for Kyrgios on Monday is Dutra Silva, whom the 22-year-old has never faced. Dutra Silva is making his second main-draw appearance in Melbourne after falling in round two last year (he has never advanced past the last 64 at any major). The 100th-ranked Brazilian successfully qualified this past week in Auckland before succumbing to Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-2. Especially on a relatively fast hard court, Kyrgios should have absolutely no trouble with the underdog.
Pick: Kyrgios in 3 losing 11 games or less
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