Cameron Norrie and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard will be among those in first round action at the Australian Open 2025 on Tuesday, January 14. Here’s the preview, predictions and tips for these matches from Melbourne.
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Matteo Berrettini v Cameron Norrie Preview
Head-to-Head: Their only previous meeting came at the 2021 Queen’s Club competition and Berrettini had won that in three sets.
Following an appearance at the 2021 Wimbledon final and a continuing successes over the following 12 months, Matteo Berrettini had moved on to become the world number six at that stage.
And then fitness woes led to a dip in the results and a fall to 92nd on the ATP charts at the end of the 2023 season.
Berrettini has taken his time over the past 12 months and slowly clawed back, relying heavily on his performances at the ATP 250 level. Three titles followed in 2024, all of which came on clay, but that was enough for him to enter this year’s Australian Open ranked 34th in the world.
He did not have a great start to the season though, losing to Jordan Thompson in the Brisbane opener and now faces a former world number eight whose ranking has also taken a tumble.
Cameron Norrie has had his own woes but the manner in which he began in Hong Kong earlier this year, one would have thought he is back.
Except that his wins over Learner Tien and Lorenzo Musetti were followed by successive defeats – to Kei Nishikori and Facundo Diaz Acosta.
This could turn out to be a close battle between the former top-10s but we think that at 17/10, Norrie looks to be a tempting bet here.
Berrettini v Norrie prediction: Norrie to win: 17/10
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard v Gael Monfils Preview
Head-to-Head: This will be the first meeting between these two French players.
Kick-starting his season at the Brisbane International earlier this month, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard overcame Nick Kyrgios, Frances Tiafoe and Jakub Mensik to make it to the semifinal.
And while Reilly Opelka got the better of him at that stage, Mpetshi Perricard would be rather pleased with his effort.
That’s because he has been able to sustain the kind of form that was on display last year in which he had won a couple of ATP titles. As a result of that Brisbane showing, Mpetshi Perricard is now ranked 30th in the world, his career-best.
He takes on fellow countryman Gael Monfils who is coming off a title of his own.
Monfils admitted that he hasn’t won a lot of titles at this level which made the Auckland Open victory last week rather special.
What made it even more special was the fact that he lost the first set of the tournament in his opener, after which he won 10 in a row to clinch the title.
Mpetshi Perricard, however, has shown to be a tough cookie and at 38, Monfils is no spring chicken either. Backing Mpetshi Perricard to come away a winner.
Mpetshi Perricard v Monfils prediction: Mpetshi Perricard to win: 8/11
Ugo Carabelli v Learner Tien Preview
Head-to-Head: Carbelli and Tien haven’t faced off before this.
It’s a battle between the 94th-ranked Ugo Carabelli and USA’s Learner Tien who had to play in the qualifiers to get through to the main draw.
And yet, it comes as no surprise that Tien is a whopping 1/6 favourite coming into this match thanks to their respective performances on this surface.
Carabelli’s fondness for clay can be understood from the fact that out of the 89 matches he played at all the levels in 2024, 77 came on that surface.
Tien, on the other hand, played 76 of the 77 matches in the previous season on hardcourt! If chalk and cheese had a match face.
This has just one winner written all over it – Tien to win and in all probabilities in straight sets too.
Carabelli v Tien prediction: Tien to win in straight sets: 6/5
Zizou Bergs v Facundo Diaz Acosta Preview
Head-to-Head: Their only previous meeting came in 2024 in Antwerp and Bergs had won that in straight sets.
Having never won a main draw match at the Australian Open, this will be Zizou Bergs’s best chance to do that. That’s because he not only enters this opening round encounter on the back of some brilliant form he has also defeated his opponent as recently as a few months ago.
What form are we talking about?
Bergs made the second round at the Hong Kong Open and was then forced to play in the qualifiers at the Auckland Open to make it to the main draw.
He did that, won both those rounds before going on a four-match winning streak to enter the final. And while he lost to Gael Monfils, he will take that confidence into this one.
Facundo Diaz Acosta is himself coming off a quarterfinal appearance in that very tournament in Auckland. Again he came through as a lucky loser in the qualifiers and it was Monfils who ended his run too.
That, however, might not be enough for him to be able to halt the world number 60 in his path.
Bergs v Diaz Acosta prediction: Bergs to win: 1/2
