Australian Open
There are obviously lots of great 1st round matches but here are a few of my favourite ones to keep an eye on.
The stand out match in the men's for me is Edinburgh's Jake Fearnley who will take on Mr Modesty himself, Nick Kyrgios. Jake has had a great run in the challenger events making his way to number 86 in the world and could be ready to take on Kyrgios who would appear to be injured, or is he? This match is at midnight (UK) on Sunday and definitely one to watch if you can have a long lie in on Monday?
No easy matches for anyone in the 1st round with the level of the men's game being so high. Sinner's opponent Jarry is very dangerous with such a big game and it will be interesting to see how Jannik handles all the Kyrgios chat re his possible ban. I'm sure he will cope well and remains the strong tournament favourite in my opinion.
Seeing how the relationship works between Murray and Djokovic would be my main reason for watching his 1st round match especially if it gets tight! His opponent is the young American 19 year old Basavareddy who has just left Stanford to give the pro tour "a go". Very talented, around the 100 mark and even if on paper it's a comfortable start for Novak, we know that in tennis you don't win on paper especially with unknown talented newcomers!
I'm always excited to watch Alcaraz play in any match and it will be interesting to see if his forehand is even bigger with the new heavier racquet? It will also be interesting to see the new serve they have been working on.
The other player I'll be very interested to see is the French player Mpetshi Perricard who has perhaps the best 2nd serve ever seen. (apart from Sampras of course). Looking forward to his 1st round too with Monfils who is a great defender.
Oh, and an outside bet to win the men's - Lehecka - watch out for this guy in 2025.
In the women's draw I am always hopeful that Raducanu will find some consistent form and more importantly remains injury free. It's a tough 1st round match against Alexandrova who may be too tough for Emma but here's hoping.....
The stand out match for me is Osaka v Garcia with 2 great ball strikers and they are the type of players who can both beat and lose to almost anyone, but are always exciting to watch.
2 slam winners in the 1st round with Sabalenka v Stephens is a tough one for both!
Ian
[email protected]
https://www.tuscantennis.com
There are obviously lots of great 1st round matches but here are a few of my favourite ones to keep an eye on.
The stand out match in the men's for me is Edinburgh's Jake Fearnley who will take on Mr Modesty himself, Nick Kyrgios. Jake has had a great run in the challenger events making his way to number 86 in the world and could be ready to take on Kyrgios who would appear to be injured, or is he? This match is at midnight (UK) on Sunday and definitely one to watch if you can have a long lie in on Monday?
No easy matches for anyone in the 1st round with the level of the men's game being so high. Sinner's opponent Jarry is very dangerous with such a big game and it will be interesting to see how Jannik handles all the Kyrgios chat re his possible ban. I'm sure he will cope well and remains the strong tournament favourite in my opinion.
Seeing how the relationship works between Murray and Djokovic would be my main reason for watching his 1st round match especially if it gets tight! His opponent is the young American 19 year old Basavareddy who has just left Stanford to give the pro tour "a go". Very talented, around the 100 mark and even if on paper it's a comfortable start for Novak, we know that in tennis you don't win on paper especially with unknown talented newcomers!
I'm always excited to watch Alcaraz play in any match and it will be interesting to see if his forehand is even bigger with the new heavier racquet? It will also be interesting to see the new serve they have been working on.
The other player I'll be very interested to see is the French player Mpetshi Perricard who has perhaps the best 2nd serve ever seen. (apart from Sampras of course). Looking forward to his 1st round too with Monfils who is a great defender.
Oh, and an outside bet to win the men's - Lehecka - watch out for this guy in 2025.
In the women's draw I am always hopeful that Raducanu will find some consistent form and more importantly remains injury free. It's a tough 1st round match against Alexandrova who may be too tough for Emma but here's hoping.....
The stand out match for me is Osaka v Garcia with 2 great ball strikers and they are the type of players who can both beat and lose to almost anyone, but are always exciting to watch.
2 slam winners in the 1st round with Sabalenka v Stephens is a tough one for both!
Ian
[email protected]
https://www.tuscantennis.com
