Sebastian Korda will kick off his Adelaide campaign on Wednesday and fellow seed Alexander Bublik is also in action. They are set for respective second-round matchups with Lorenzo Sonego and Dan Evans.
Lorenzo Sonego vs. (3) Sebastian Korda
It’s only the second round at the Adelaide International, but Sonego is already on his second life. The 46th-ranked Italian saved two match points in the third-set tiebreaker to outlast Yannick Hanfmann 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(9) on Tuesday. It was a much-needed result for Sonego after losing both of his ATP Cup matches last week (to Alexander Zverev and Adrian Mannarino).
Up next for the 28-year-old Wednesday afternoon is a fifth contest against Korda, who trails the head-to-head series 3-1. Sonego won two of their three meetings in 2021 and then prevailed 6-4, 6-4 on the indoor hard courts of Metz in 2022. Now 23 years old, Korda is much more polished player with a better serve than he was when he lost to Sonego three times. The 29th-ranked American finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic last season in Adelaide and even had a championship point. His bid to go one step farther in 2024 should get off to a strong start.
Pick: Korda in 3
Dan Evans vs. (8) Alexander Bublik
Another familiar matchup on Wednesday pits Bublik against Evans. They have also faced each other on four previous occasions at the ATP level and Bublik leads the head-to-head series 3-1 (4-1 overall if you include a 2019 Miami qualifying match). The 26-year-old Kazakh is coming off a productive 2023 campaign in which he won a 500-point title on the grass of Halle. For his efforts he is up to No. 31 in the world and will be seeded at the Australian Open.
Evans missed the end of last year after sustaining a calf injury in Vienna, so he is a little bit rusty. However, the 40th-ranked Brit did well to get started in Adelaide with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Rinky Hijikata. Pretty much any match involving Bublik can go either way, but given his past success in this matchup combined with Evans’ time off makes the No. 8 seed the favorite in this one.
Pick: Bublik in 3
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