The marquee matchup of round two at the Australian Open pits Daniil Medvedev against Nick Kyrgios on Thursday. Two other entertainers are also taking the court, as Grigor Dimitrov Dimitrov faces Benoit Paire.
Nick Kyrgios vs. (2) Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev and Kyrgios will be squaring off for the third time in their careers when they clash in the Australian Open second round on Thursday. Both of their previous encounters have gone Kyrgios’ way; 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 at the 2019 Rome Masters and 7-6(6), 7-6(4) a few months later in the Washington, D.C. title match.
Fast forward three years and there is little reason to think things will be the same now. Not even a favorable setting in front of a raucous Australian crowd is likely to save Kyrgios, who has played sparingly on tour since the Covid-19 pandemic began in early 2020. The world No. 115 had not played an official match since the 2021 U.S. Open and had not won one since Atlanta until he beat Liam Broady 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday. Medvedev will obviously be a much tougher opponent; the second-ranked Russian finished runner-up last year in Melbourne and he won the U.S. Open. This is a fun matchup on paper; it is unlikely to deliver much on the court.
Pick: Medvedev in 3
(26) Grigor Dimitrov vs. Benoit Paire
The Australian Open has been Dimitrov’s most successful and certainly most consistent Grand Slam throughout his career. The 30-year-old Bulgarian has reached at least the quarterfinals on four occasions–all in his last eight trips Down Under. That includes a semifinal run in 2017 and he made it back to the quarters last season before being plagued by a back injury during a loss to Aslan Karatsev. Dimitrov is coming off a semifinal performance at an ATP 250 event in Melbourne and he opened on Tuesday with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Jiri Lehecka.
Up next for Dimitrov on Thursday is Paire, who leads the head-to-head series 3-1 (2-1 at the ATP level). Those numbers hardly matter, though, because they have not faced each other since 2015. Paire has been a complete disaster dating back to the start of the pandemic, and he had been 0-2 this season before outlasting Thiago Monteiro 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 in the Aussie Open first round. It’s hard to see the Frenchman producing two decent performances in a row–especially when he his next opponent is in fine form and has a history of success Down Under.
Pick: Dimitrov in 3
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I doubt Dimitrov is playing well enough to win 3-0, but you never know with him; he has performed well at this event in the past.
Kyrgios will beat Medvedev tomorrow
Lol, please show us your bet ticket so we know to take you seriously.
Hurcacz was the oversight; he just hasnt been the same since his poor performance at the ATP Finals.
Can rafa manage kachanov ? Worried about it kachanov has always troubled him.. I rem the 4 hr match uso 18 third round, then the tight Indian wells qf 2019 76 76
What happ to Hubert.. such a lopsided straight set crash
You have to catch him when he’s clearly on fire. He’s never been that reliable, so you can never assume that he will be prepared. It was an obvious oversight of mine. I assumed that Mannarino was way past it.
Ricky had Hurkacz taking out Rafa. Does this mean that Nadal will win AO now??? Just kidding… Kachanov is probably not going to be a walk in the park.
Medvedev and Zeverev looking very good.
As for Dimi, never fails to disappoint.