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Round 2 of the Australian Open is here. We will witness a high octane matchup between the big hitting Andrey Rublev and Christopher Eubanks as well as a strategic battle between Alex de Minaur and Matteo Arnaldi.
A blend of raw power, tactical brilliance and heightened passion will fill the courts. Dive in to how I see these matches playing out.
Note: Match times are subject to change. Read here for tips on viewing Australian Open matches.
Rublev (-750) vs Eubanks (+500)
1 a.m. ET
Eubanks utilizes an ultra-aggressive style of play. He looks to dictate from the very first ball and with his 6 foot 7 frame, he is often capable of doing so on serve. Eubanks often takes cracks at second serves to jump on the immediate attack, and although Rublev’s second serve has improved tremendously, it is still attackable. His unique and fearless style, throwing in plenty of high-risk shots, keeps his opponents from finding a rhythm and fine tuning their timing.
Rublev is known for his intense, aggressive baseline play. His forehand is lethal and he doesn’t hold anything back on each on every shot. His style of aggression requires precise timing and a good consistent rhythm. Unfortunately for him, those may be hard to come by against Eubanks.
Although their games are not identical, Rublev struggled mightily against John Isner, one who would fall under the “serve-bot” category with Eubanks. If Eubanks can land a good percentage of first serves, he can prevent Rublev from dictating with his forehand and comfortably hold serve.
Rallies will be short, and whoever starts on top will likely close the point out. This match will heavily rely on first serve landing percentage and I will trust Eubanks to make that competitive.
Rublev will likely advance to the third round, but trust the American to extend this match.
Pick: Over 36.5 games (-110 via DraftKings)
De Minaur (-500) vs Arnaldi (+360)
9:15 p.m. ET
De Minaur took a bit to settle into his first round match. Raonic was finding his way through the de Minaur defense and eventually took the first set in a tiebreaker. After that, the Australian began to takeover before Raonic had to stop early, giving de Minaur a pass to the second round. The initial step on court at your home slam may bring nerves with it, but now that’s he’s in the second round, that should be a thing of the past.
Arnaldi is a rising star and has a bright future on the ATP tour. He plays great baseline tennis and already owns two wins against top 20 opponents. Despite all the potential the Italian has, I don’t believe he has the power to disrupt the de Minaur defense.
Taking down Adam Walton in round one, Arnaldi faces a ramp up in Australian competition and with that will come even more extreme crowd support. The young star will be facing a steep uphill battle trying to work through impeccable defense with the whole crowd rooting against you.
I don’t think de Minaur squanders the chance to fly into the third round.
Pick: De Minaur -2.5 sets (-110 via DraftKings)
