Australian Open R1 previews and predictions: Bautista Agut vs. Lopez, Fognini vs. Opelka

It will be an all-Spanish showdown when Roberto Bautista Agut and Feliciano Lopez square off at the Australian Open on Monday. Familiar foes Fabio Fognini and Reilly Opelka are also in opening-round action.

Feliciano Lopez vs. (9) Roberto Bautista Agut

Bautista Agut and Lopez will be facing each other for the fifth time in their careers when they clash in round one of the Australian Open on Monday. They have split their four previous encounters, with Lopez prevailing twice on hard courts in 2014 and 2016 before Bautista Agut got the job done twice on clay in 2016 and 2018.

Both veterans are better on the hard stuff than on clay despite what their Spanish heritage would suggest. This should be a high-quality contest also because both players are in stellar form–especially Bautista Agut. The world No. 9 compiled a 6-0 record at the ATP Cup and went 12-0 in total sets without being pushed to a single tiebreaker. Lopez advanced to the Auckland quarterfinals before falling to Hubert Hurkacz in three sets. The 38-year-old’s slice approach to Bautista Agut’s backhand is particularly effective, but Bautista Agut is one of the hottest players on tour right now and is the fitter of the two if this develops into an extended battle.

Pick: Bautista Agut in 5

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Reilly Opelka vs. (12) Fabio Fognini

Opelka missed out on a seed by three ranking spots and that is bad news for both him and Fognini, as this is definitely one of the toughest first-round matchups in Melbourne. They just met in round one of the most recent major, when Opelka pulled off a 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3 upset at the 2019 U.S. Open. Fognini, however, earned some revenge by winning 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3 on the indoor hard courts of the Davis Cup Finals.

This could be a similarly tough task for Opelka, who generally does his best work at home in the United States. A rough opening match in 2020 saw the 6’11” American fall to a struggling Pablo Cuevas 5-7, 7-6(9), 7-6(2) in Adelaide. Fognini is a disappointing 1-3 so far in 2020, so it’s not like he is playing well enough to completely wipe his opponent off the court. But Opelka did not win the big points against Cuevas and he probably won’t win enough against the 12th-ranked Italian.

Pick: Fognini in 5

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