Australian Open No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev will be in action on Thursday against Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori. American Tommy Paul will also be in second-round action against recent Adelaide opponent Jack Draper.
(3) Daniil Medvedev vs. Emil Ruusuvuori
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev is still looking for his second major title. The world No. 3 snagged his first one over Novak Djokovic at the U.S. Open in 2021. He got awfully close to a second title in Melbourne in 2022, but veteran Rafael Nadal outlasted him in a final for the ages to snag his 21st Grand Slam title. Medvedev also made the final the year before, so he is always a threat Down Under.
Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori is ranked 53rd in the world. The 24-year-old had a spectacular warmup event in Hong Kong, where he lost in the final to Andrey Rublev. Ruusuvuori’s Australian Open first-round victory came over American wild card Patrick Kypson.
Medvedev holds a 2-0 head-to-head lead over Ruusuvuori and both matches were comfortable wins for the Russian. With the form the Finn is in, he might make Thursday’s match more competitive than their previous encounters. But given Medvedev’s successes at Melbourne Park, it’s unlikely that Ruusuvuori will have enough to beat the third set over best-of-five.
Cheryl pick: Medvedev in 3
Ricky pick: Medvedev in 4
(14) Tommy Paul vs. Jack Draper
American Tommy Paul can’t be pleased to see Jack Draper across the net so soon following his loss to the left-hander a week ago in Adelaide. Draper won that encounter in easy straight sets. The Brit won their previous match a year ago, as well–also a straight-set victory in Adelaide. Paul, the world No. 14, had an outstanding 2023 season–although he did not win any titles.
Draper was the Adelaide finalist for his warmup event. He lost the title match to Jiri Lehecka, but the result marks just his second ATP-level final of his career. The Brit has not fared well in best-of-five matches in his brief career, but things are looking up a bit for the world No. 55 following a fourth-round showing at the U.S. Open last year.
Draper and Paul haven’t played often enough to determine that Paul has a matchup issue, but the easy wins for the Brit suggest that his game holds up favorably against Paul’s. If this one goes the distance, Paul will be favored; he is far more experienced with the format in the majors. If the match winds down in three or four sets, it may be Draper who has the advantage.
Cheryl pick: Draper in 4
Ricky pick: Paul in 5
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