The Australian Open gets underway on Sunday and Jannik Sinner will be in action in Rod Laver Arena against Botic van de Zandschulp. Another big-name matchup in round one features Frances Tiafoe and Borna Coric.
(4) Jannik Sinner vs. Botic van de Zandschulp
Sinner pretty much took the tennis world by storm in 2023, especially in the latter stages of the year. The only thing missing was a Grand Slam title. The fourth-ranked Italian will be hoping to add that to his resume at the 2024 Australian Open, where he will kick off his campaign against Van de Zandschulp on Sunday afternoon. Sinner went 64-15 last season with his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto, runner-up performances at the Miami Masters and Nitto ATP Finals, and two upsets of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic during the fall swing.
Van de Zandschulp is a relatively difficult first-round opponent in terms of name recognition, but this should not be too much of a test for Sinner. The 59th-ranked Dutchman suffered the collapse of the year in the Munich final against Holger Rune early in the clay-court swing and he was never the same for the remainder of 2023. Van de Zandschulp’s woes continued with a 6-7(5), 7-6(2), 7-6(2) loss to Jerry Shang in the Hong Kong second round earlier this month. All signs point to this being one-way traffic for Sinner.
Pick: Sinner in 3
(17) Frances Tiafoe vs. Borna Coric
Tiafoe and Coric will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Sunday. Their only previous meeting did not disappoint; it went a full five sets, with Coric prevailing in front of the home crowd in Croatia via a 6-7(0), 6-1, 6-7(11), 6-1, 6-3 decision during 2018 Davis Cup action.
Although Tiafoe has not been in great form since reaching the U.S. Open quarterfinals last summer, he always gets inspired on the big stage and therefore should raise his level in Melbourne. The 17th-ranked American has done it before, advancing to the quarterfinals in 2019 (lost to Rafael Nadal). Coric missed the entire fall swing this past year due to a shoulder injury. The world No. 39 played a pair of matches at the United Cup two weeks ago, losing to Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-1 and beating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(4), 6-4. The latter result is somewhat encouraging, but there is no reason to think that Coric is back to his peak self. Tiafoe should have little trouble booking his spot in round two at Melbourne Park.
Pick: Tiafoe in 4
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