Why is the court green? What the heck is Rebound Ace? Isn’t Federer’s opponent a politician now?
Predicted Winners in BOLD
ROD LAVER ARENA
[17] Roger Federer (SUI) vs [Q] Noah Rubin (USA) – Rubin might come out swinging freely, but I think Federer will advance and knock more rust off in the process.
[1] Andy Murray (GBR) vs. [Q] Andrey Rublev (RUS) – The number one seed should ease into the 3rd round.
MARGARET COURT ARENA
[4] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) vs. Steve Johnson (USA) – This is a nightmare trap match. Johnson plays solid tennis and competes well. Still, the 2014 champion is my pick.
[27] Bernard Tomic (AUS) vs. Victor Estrella Burgos (DOM) – Tomic looked solid in round one.
HISENSE ARENA
[5] Kei Nishikori (JPN) vs Jérémy Chardy (FRA) – If Kei gets to Chardy’s backhand, he wins. If Chardy’s forehand and serve dictate play and push Nishikori backwards, this could be a long tough match.
[14] Nick Kyrgios (AUS) vs Andreas Seppi (ITA) – Seppi is a tough customer, but Kyrgios nuclear powered tennis should find a path to victory.
SHOW COURT 2
[12] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs. Dusan Lajovic (SRB)
[31] Sam Querrey (USA) vs [WC] Alex De Minaur (AUS) – Querrey needs to be careful vs. an Aussie on his home turf.
SHOW COURT 3
[10] Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs. Ryan Harrison (USA) – Berdych should win, but Harrison has injected some positive energy into his career over the past 6 months.
[7] Marin Cilic (CRO) vs Daniel Evans (GBR) – The good news for Cilic is Evans is not going to have the power Jerzy had. The bad news for Cilic is that Evans is unlikely to implode.
COURT 7
[29] Viktor Troicki (SRB) vs Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) – I have to pick an upset somewhere.
COURT 8
[19] John Isner (USA) vs Mischa Zverev (GER) – I don’t expect many breaks of serve, and if the 30-year-old Zverev can make his left-handedness a factor on the points where the ball is in play, he can win. Still, Isner is the favorite.
[23] Jack Sock (USA) vs Karen Khachanov (RUS) – Not exactly Rocky IV, but I think Sock wins.
COURT 13
Malek Jaziri (TUN) vs. [Q] Alexander Bublik (KAZ) – Each man represents an underrepresented country in men’s tennis.
Lukas Lacko (SVK) vs. Dudi Sela (ISR)
COURT 20
Diego Schwartzman (ARG) vs. Steve Darcis (BEL)
