The opening round matches at the Australian Open 2025 will continue on Monday and Tuesday, January 12-13 as Jannik Sinner and Tommy Paul among those on court for their openers. Here’s the preview, predictions and tips for these matches from Melbourne.
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Jannik Sinner v Nicolas Jarry Preview
Head-to-Head: There have been two previous meetings between these players and it’s 1-1 on head to head. Jarry had won in Rosmalen in 2019 while Sinner avenged that with a victory in 2024 at the China Open.
78-6.
That’s Jannik Sinner’s record in 2024 when one counts all levels and types of tennis tournaments he was a part of. Eight of the tournaments he participated in, Sinner won.
And two of those victories came in Grand Slams, of which one was the Australian Open.
That was how he went on court. Off the court he had a mixed bag but the biggest talking point of the year was the doping case against him that will now be heard in three months’ time.
What that means is that while he is free to play competitive tennis till then but also means that the sword keeps hanging on his neck.
Sinner hasn’t played any competitive tennis this year and will be directly kick-starting his season at the Australian Open. He faces an opponent who is ranked 34th in the world at the moment, making it a tough battle on paper.
Except that Jarry is more renowned for his clay court exploits on which he has won all of his three ATP titles.
Sinner v Jarry prediction: Sinner to win in straight sets: 1/3
Tommy Paul v Christopher O’Connell Preview
Head-to-Head: Since O’Connell won a match on the Challenger circuit against Paul, they face off twice at the highest level. Paul has won both times, at the French Open in 2021 and in Adelaide in 2023.
A semifinalist at the Australian Open in 2023, Tommy Paul was knocked out of this competition in the third round last year Miomir Kecmanovic in what was a shock result.
Paul did not let that disrupt his rise to the top though as he went on to win three titles in the entire season, including two indoors in Dallas and Stockholm.
The American started off the season in Adelaide this year and made his way to the semifinal where he met his match at the hands of Felix Auger-Aliassime. While that was a surprise loss, Paul would have been happy to have gotten himself a nice tune-up before the season’s first major.
He now takes on the 64th-ranked Christopher O’Connell who is coming off a 1-2 record this season. This includes an opening round loss in Brisbane to Alex Michelsen before he was ousted in the second in Adelaide by Kecmanovic.
O’Connell did make the second round here last year but it’s one thing scraping through against Cristian Garin like he did then and another to face a world 12.
Paul v O’Connell prediction: Paul to win in straight sets: 5/4
Flavio Cobolli v Tomas Martin Etcheverry Preview
Head-to-Head: There have been three previous meetings including two on the Challenger circuit and one in the qualifiers of this very event in 2022 and Martin Etcheverry has won every single time.
Flavio Cobolli made a solid start to the season when he helped Italy progress to the quarterfinals of the United Cup in January. He won both his singles matches in the group stage, beating Dominic Stricker and Ugo Humbert before falling to Tomas Machac.
Unfortunately for him, Cobolli was then sent packing in the very first round of the Auckland Open, after being forced to retired in the second set because of a right leg injury.
The question now is if he can continue playing in the same vein in this opener, or worse still, take to the court for his opener against Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
At the time of writing there has been no signs of withdrawal but either ways, Martin Etcheverry starts off a favourite against a player he has beaten multiple times before this.
Martin Etcheverry is 2-2 for the season with a win and a loss at both, the United Cup and Adelaide. Backing him to win this.
Cobolli v Etcheverry prediction: Etcheverry to win: 11/20
Miomir Kecmanovic v Dusan Lajovic Preview
Head-to-Head: There have been two previous meetings between these two players and both were won by Lajovic on clay. This will be the first time they will be facing off in a hardcourt competition.
In an all-Serb battle, world number 55 Miomir Kecmanovic will look for revenge against the 75th-ranked Dusan Lajovic when they face off in the first round of the Australian Open.
And while Lajovic has never lost to Kecmanovic before this, the change in surface could make the difference this time.
Kecmanovic is a much better player in hardcourt competitions than Lajovic and a bit of that was on show earlier this season when he made the second round at the Hong Kong and went all the way up to the semifinal in Adelaide.
Lajovic, on the other hand, made the Brisbane competition as a lucky loser, then beat Arthur Cazaux but has lost two matches since.
No surprises then that Kecmanovic starts off a whopping 1/5 favourite here.
Kecmanovic v Lajovic prediction: Sets Handicap Lajovic +2.5: 8/13
Other Australian Open 2025 Predictions of the Day
- TBA
