2025 Australian Open - Men’s Singles Preview

2025 Australian Open - Men’s Singles Preview 

Here I go again - the draw is out, with some gaps for qualifiers and I will yet again choose a group of players which I believe can find its way through to the men’s singles quarter finals.

My justification this year will have to support:

Jannik Sinner

Carlos Alcaraz

Novak Djokovic 

Taylor Fritz 

Stefanos Tsitsipas 

Alexander Zverev 

Felix Auger-Aliassime

Daniil Medvedev 

in np particular orderyet,

I’ll begin with the defending champion and number one seed.

Jannik Sinner has barely put a foot wrong in the 12 months since capturing the AO crown in 2024.

So grabbing a quarter final spot this year should be a training fun for the Italian.

Third round he may meet and beat one of Marcos Giron (Adelaide quarter finalist), Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Flavio Cobolli (32).

Round of sixteen seeded to meet Holger Rune (13), but others could disappoint Rune, including Hubert Hurkacz (18) and Miomir Kecmanovic (Adelaide semi finalist)l

Sinner has won all four matches against Kecmanovic, and the last two matches against Hurkacz, so he should wander into a quarter final with less stress than rumours of his engagement to girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya fuelled in October.

Quarter final opponent for Sinner is more problematic to predict, and I have plugged for 2023 AO finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas (11).

Alex Michelson will be a good first up test, but then second round will be either a wildcard Aussie or a Spanish qualifier.

Third round is the first”serious battle - Russian Karen Khachanov )19).

But it isn’t that serious based on the fact that khachanov has chalked up only one victory over the Greek player in nine tries.

Eighth seed Alex de Minaur once again is Australia’s home nation hope.

He is yet to progress past the quarters in any major, and despite his promising lead up form in the United Cup, he is seeded to meet a player with strength and skills enough to stop the Aussie run in the fourth round.

Additionally, Alex has only one win out of 12 encounters with Tsitsipas.

Sinner v Tsitsipas in one quarter of the top half of the draw.

Taylor Fritz (4) broke into the top echelon of mens tennis last year, a first major final in New York putting the defining stamp on things.

He ended the season with an ATP Finals appearance just to prove a point.

He is seeded to be a semi finalist here, and he should begin with a couple of straightforward wins.

Third round could be a match up with unseeded Gaël Monfils, who just won in. Auckland., or big serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (30).

Another American, Ben Shelton (21), is seeded below Lorenzo Musetti (16).

However, I fancy Shelton to overtake the Italian and have the honour of losing to Fritz in the  round of sixteen.

Shelton played Fritz once before - Indian Wells in 2023 - and lost.

Daniil Medvedev (5) has a good AO record without winning the ultimatum trophy.

Three times a finalist in the last four years, losing to Djokovic, Nadal and Sinner 

No obvious danger facing Daniil in the first few rounds this year, and he is seeded to meet an Aussie Alexei Popyrin (25) in the third round.

Medvedev has a 3-1 record, but Popyrin won the most recent clash in the 2024 Paris Masters.

Medvedev will be the master this time and reach the round of sixteen.

Another Russian, Andrey Rublev, is drawn to play Daniil in that match, and I believe will not pass the test. Rublev has lost the past three times they’ve met.

Fritz v Medvedev in the other quarter final in the top half of the draw.

Novak Djokovic is seeded seventh, a lowly rank for the ten time champion.

Doesn’t change the fact that early rounds will be as has in past ages - Serbian winning ways.

Big serving Reilly Opelka May have offered some fun, especially after his win in Brisbane over Novak.

However his back gave out in the final up north, and Reilly willprobably lose to Czech Tomas Machac (26) in round two.

Machac will face Djokovic and perhaps give him a bit of a struggle, before relenting and seeing the champ into the round of sixteen.

Jiri Lehecka (24) won the Brisbane International this year, and Grigor Dimitrov (10) lost in the semis in the same tournament to Lehecka.

Thea two are drawn to meet again in the third round here, the winner to play Djokovic in the round of sixteen.

Grigor has beaten Djokovic once in 13 goes, and that was in 2013 on the Madrid clay.

Jiri has only played him once, and lost in the United Cup 12 months ago.

So Novak cruises into the quarters with his history.

Carlos Alcaraz (3) is undeniably at the centre of the future of mens tennis 

He excites from the moment he swings a racquet on the first point of a match.

And in Australia he has a real chance.

Aussie Jordan Thompson (27) is playing the singles tennis of his life, but if he honours the draw and meets Carlos in round three, the gulf between the good and the elite will be on display.

Injuries have affected the section of the draw where the next opponent for Carlos will be derived.

Sebastian Korda (22) was hampered in his Adelaide final loss, and Aussie Thanasi withdrew earlier in test tournament from a match he had scheduled against Korda.

I’m assuming Korda will recover sufficiently to best Jack Drsoer (15) in round three and be demolished by Alcaraz after that.

Carlos quarter final against Novak - Olympics rematch !

Casper Ruud is the sixth seed, but his AO record is poor, fourj round nest in 2021.

He is good to ease through to third round but suddenly Felix Auger-Aliassime(29) poses a threat after claiming the Adelaide title.

Felix has 4-3 record playing Ruud, including the past three matches, all in 2024. The last one was on a Cincinnati hard court.

Felix is my choice to fly through to the round of sixteen and a quick rematch with Tommy Paul (12) who he defeated in the Adelaide semis a few days ago.

Felix through to quarters, a surprise factor.

Alexander Zverev is the number two seed.

He sort of manoeuvred his way in between Sinner and Alcaraz during 2024 to achieve his career high and gain a niche seed for the first major this year.

A safe assumption that Zverev will make the third round.

If Nick Kyrgios is dealt a good hand, if his injury is perfectly managed and doesn’t inhibit him, and if the planets are aligned for the coming week, then our most exciting and flawed player could meet and best Sebaceous Baez (29) and earn a fight with Zverev.

Sadly for Aussies, that fight would be a loss to the German, who should progress further with a win over French player Ugo Humbert (14).

Zverev best Humbert the past two times they met, both in the Paris Masters - 2023 and 2024. Last year was in the final.

So quarter final Zverev v Auger-Aliassime

Preview:

Quarter finals:

Jannik Sinner (1) to defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas (11)

Daniil Medvedev (5) to defeat Taylor Fritz (4)

Carlos Alcaraz (3) to defeat Novak Djokovic (7)

Alexander Zverev (2) to defeat Felix Auger-Aliassime (29)

Semi Finals:

Jannik Sinner (1) to defeat Daniil Medvedev (5)

Carlos Alcaraz (3) to defeat Alexander Zverev (2)

Final:

Carlos Alcaraz (3) to defeat Jannik Sinner (1)