Round 2 is kicking off at the French Open, and big names continue to headline the slate. The No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz faces Taro Daniel and former champion Stan Wawrinka takes on Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Here are my picks and analysis for two of the biggest matches on Wednesday.
Note: Match times are subject to change. Read here for tips on viewing Australian Open matches.
Carlos Alcaraz (-8000) vs Taro Daniel (+1600)
8:45 a.m. ET
Alcaraz kicked off his campaign in dominant fashion a few days ago. He has more tools than anyone in the draw and is a nightmare to play, especially on the clay. He holds one of the best kick serves on tour, the quickest movement around the court and the most lethal drop shot. Each of these paired with his blistering groundstrokes often leave his opponents looking foolish.
Daniel holds some impressive results this year with the most notable coming from Acapulco and the Sunshine double. He loves the slow hard courts and took down Casper Ruud, Matteo Berrettini and Alexander Zverev to name a few. Additionally, he is no stranger to clay. Producing respectable results over the years, he has the game and movement to compete on these courts.
For the most part, Daniel plays a conservative game. He grinds out points from the baseline and not doesn't possess any extraordinary weapons. This will be a problem versus Alcaraz. The Spaniard can do it all, but importantly in this matchup he is remarkable at taking advantage of weak shots and his attacking conversion rate is through the roof.
I do not think Daniel has the weapons to trouble Alcaraz and this will be an extremely one-sided match. Alcaraz has a mentality that rivals that of Rafael Nadal's and he will show no let up. Trust Alcaraz to dictate on the front foot and leave Daniel with no room to breath.
Pick: Alcaraz -10.5 games (-105 via DraftKings)
Stan Wawrinka (-110) vs Thanasi Kokkinakis (-110)
6:30 a.m. ET
When off-court battles finally meet on the tennis court, the intensity is sure to be there. Back in 2015, Nick Kyrgios dragged Kokkinakis into Wawrinka's mind during a match between himself and Wawrinka. For anyone who hasn't heard of the situation, you can find the history here.
Tennis is an extremely mental sport. When the grudges arrive on court, they will most definitely impact the match results. Wawrinka recently faced Holger Rune after their confrontational handshake last fall. In this match, Rune was struggling mentally in the first set and surely had more than tennis on his mind throughout the match.
Beyond the mental battle, Kokkinakis had an impressive first round outing. He is by no means a clay-court specialist, but he has won Challengers on the surface and is more than adequate, dictating with a huge serve and forehand. For Wawrinka, you could argue clay is his best surface. He holds a French Open title, which is something but three current players can say, and has been to another final.
This is a difficult match to call, but I am going to hand this one to Wawrinka. With his experience, level-headed nature and history at the French Open, I think he has enough to hold off Kokkinakis.
Pick: Wawrinka ML (-110 via DraftKings)
