Australian Open R2 previews and predictions: Rublev vs. Eubanks, Tsitsipas vs. Thompson

Andrey Rublev is effectively on his second life already at the Australian Open and he will play his second-round match on Wednesday against Chris Eubanks. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jordan Thompson are also taking the court.

Chris Eubanks vs. (5) Andrey Rublev

Rublev very nearly crashed out of the Australian Open in the first round. On Sunday, fifth-ranked Russian squandered a two-set lead against Thiago Seyboth Wild and then trailed by a double mini-break in the fifth-set tiebreaker before winning eight of the last nine points to triumph 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(6). Picking up right where he left off at the end of a stellar 2023 campaign, Rublev is now 5-0 this season with a title in Hong Kong.

Up next for the 26-year-old on Wednesday is a first-ever meeting with Eubanks. Although he registers at an impressive 35th in the rankings, based on his current form–or lack thereof–Eubanks has done well simply to advance one round. The former Georgia Tech standout had been on a five-match losing streak and had not found the winners’ circle since the Shanghai Masters until he defeated Auckland runner-up Taro Daniel 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 on Monday. Eubanks is always dangerous due to his serve, but unless he produces an incredible serving performance this should be a mostly routine result for Rublev.

Pick: Rublev in 3

Jordan Thompson vs. (7) Stefanos Tsitsipas

Tsitsipas and Thompson will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers on Wednesday. Their most recent meeting did not disappoint, as Thompson pulled off a 7-6(0), 4-6, 7-6(5) upset at the 2023 Indian Wells Masters. That was preceded by a pair of victories for Tsitsipas–6-3, 7-6(4) four years ago in Washington, D.C. and 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 at Wimbledon in 2022.

The seventh-ranked Greek was dealing with a shoulder injury when he lost to Thompson in Indian Wells, but he appears to good to go at this point. Tsitsipas dropped his opening set to Zizou Bergs on Monday but lost only five games the entire rest of the way. That being said, the 25-year-old is well off his peak level these days and the last three sets against Bergs were so one-sided mainly because Bergs hit the wall physically. This could be another interesting contest, because Thompson is playing great tennis. The 47th-ranked Aussie upset Rafael Nadal en route to the Brisbane semis, advanced one round in Adelaide, and survived a five-setter against compatriot Aleksandar Vukic on Monday. Tsitsipas should prevail given his far superior Grand Slam acumen, but this could be a tough one–especially with the crowd firmly behind Thompson.

Pick: Tsitsipas in 4