Breaking down Monday’s notable Australian Open matchups

A quick summary of the top players and best matchups in action on Day 1 of the Australian Open, with predictions. Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, and Alexander Zverev are among the headliners on Monday.

Djokovic over Chardy in 3 – Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 13-0 and he is an eight-time champion of the Aussie Open, so this is a great matchup for Chardy. Yeah, just kidding.

Millman over Moutet in 5 – Millman happily engages in five-setter battles and this one against Moutet should be no exception. At home, the Aussie gets the slight edge.

Ruusuvuori over Monfils in 3 – Unfortunately for tennis, Monfils is a shadow of his real self right now. Ruusuvuori is on the rise and will take advantage.

Bublik over Bedene in 5 – Trying to predict the outcome of a Bublik match is about as easy as solving a Rubik’s Cube. No rhyme intended, it’s just true. And much like I do with the cube, I will probably get this one wrong.

Zverev over Giron in 3 – Giron could take a set if Zverev is spraying double-faults all over the place like he often does, but this should be straights.

Thiem over Kukushkin in 4 – This is a classic spot for Thiem to struggle in his first match at hard-court slam. Kukushkin is a wily veteran who cannot be discounted. I’m actually kind of surprised I haven’t picked it to go five.

Dimitrov over Cilic in 4 – This is the second-best matchup on Monday behind Denis Shapovalov vs. Jannik Sinner. Shapovalov and Sinner won’t live up to the hype for reasons discussed below. Dimitrov-Cilic won’t live up to the hype, because…well…Cilic.

Carreno Busta over Nishikori in 3 – PCB’s monumental meltdown against Nishikori in 2019 is one of the great (or more like “infamous”) moments in recent Australian Open history. Given his form and Nishikori’s struggles, the Spaniard isn’t going to lose the rematch.

Londero over Delbonis in 5 – Not unlike PCB vs. Nishikori, you really can’t make up that Londero and Delbonis are playing each other in round one. The two Argentines just went head-to-head in round one of the French Open last fall and it went to 14-12 in the fifth set (won by Londero after four hours and 54 minutes).

Sugita over Tomic in 4 – Similar to Benoit Paire, wherever you see Tomic in the draw you automatically pick his opponent–without hesitation with utmost confidence–regardless of who that opponent is. Sugita wouldn’t beat many of the 128 players in this field, but he will beat Tomic.

Gerasimov over Paire in 3 – See above.

Tiafoe over Travaglia in 4 – Travaglia and Sinner played the Great Ocean Road Open final on Sunday afternoon and it was a physical battle in which both players struggled physically. Struggled bigtime. Not having any days off is brutal following such a long week.

Shapovalov over Sinner in 4 – It’s a shame because on paper Shapovalov vs. Sinner is the best matchup of the entire first round. Now we won’t get to see it play out that way on the court. But, hey, at least the 19-year-old Italian captured the second ATP title of his promising career. He can worry about Grand Slams some time (soon) in the future.