Veterans Julien Benneteau and Tommy Haas will kick off their Australian Open campaigns on Monday. They are set for respective meetings with Pablo Carreno Busta and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
Pablo Carreno Busta vs. Julien Benneteau
Carreno Busta and Benneteau will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they clash in round one of the Australian Open on Monday. Their only previous meeting came last spring on the clay courts of Oeiras, where Carreno Busta prevailed 6-3, 6-4. The 63rd-ranked Spaniard is not quite as adept on hard courts and he compiled an 0-2 record in warmup tournaments, losing his openers in both Chennai and Auckland.
Benneteau fell in the Brisbane first round and the Sydney second round, so his preparation also did not go exactly as planned. Whereas Carreno Busta’s 2013 campaign signaled his arrival on the professional level, Benneteau is beginning his 15th year on tour. Almost unbelievably, the 38th-ranked Frenchman has not lost in round one of a Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2009. Since then, he has reached third rounds on a whopping 10 occasions–including a fourth-round appearance once. Experience should help Benneteau survive an entertaining encounter.
Pick: Benneteau in 5
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Guillermo Garcia-Lopez vs. (12) Tommy Haas
Despite both being in their 30s, Haas and Garcia-Lopez have somehow never faced each other heading into their first-round match in Melbourne. The real question right now is when Haas’ seemingly inevitable decline will begin. So far, it has not. The 35-year-old German did little wrong in 2013, although his second half of the season was not as memorable as an early hot stretch that saw him reach the Miami semifinals. A cause for concern is that Haas, still ranked a stellar 12th in the world, lost his only tuneup match to Jack Sock in the Auckland first round last week.
Garcia-Lopez, on the other hand, has already enjoyed plenty of match practice this year. The 58th-ranked Spaniard advanced one round in Chennai and two rounds in Sydney, where he played a trio of three-setters against Robin Haase, Santiago Giraldo, and David Ferrer. Garcia-Lopez has lost in the first round of four consecutive Grand Slams and six of the last eight. Both of the one-handed backhands in this one are outstanding, but Haas’ all-court game is superior and unlike his opponent he is a proven winner in majors.
Pick: Haas in 4
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Haas retired with an injury with GGL up a set and a break. No semifinal for him!