Sebastian Korda will kick off his Adelaide marketing campaign on Wednesday and fellow seed Alexander Bublik can also be in motion. They’re set for respective second-round matchups with Lorenzo Sonego and Dan Evans.
Lorenzo Sonego vs. (3) Sebastian Korda
It’s solely the second spherical on the Adelaide Worldwide, however Sonego is already on his second life. The Forty sixth-ranked Italian saved two match factors within the third-set tiebreaker to outlast Yannick Hanfmann 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(9) on Tuesday. It was a much-needed consequence for Sonego after dropping each of his ATP Cup matches final week (to Alexander Zverev and Adrian Mannarino).
Up subsequent for the 28-year-old Wednesday afternoon is a fifth contest in opposition to Korda, who trails the head-to-head collection 3-1. Sonego gained two of their three conferences in 2021 after which prevailed 6-4, 6-4 on the indoor exhausting courts of Metz in 2022. Now 23 years outdated, Korda is rather more polished participant with a greater serve than he was when he misplaced to Sonego thrice. The Twenty ninth-ranked American completed runner-up to Novak Djokovic final season in Adelaide and even had a championship level. His bid to go one step farther in 2024 ought to get off to a powerful begin.
Decide: Korda in 3
Dan Evans vs. (8) Alexander Bublik
One other acquainted matchup on Wednesday pits Bublik in opposition to Evans. They’ve additionally confronted one another on 4 earlier events on the ATP degree and Bublik leads the head-to-head collection 3-1 (4-1 general should you embrace a 2019 Miami qualifying match). The 26-year-old Kazakh is coming off a productive 2023 marketing campaign during which he gained a 500-point title on the grass of Halle. For his efforts he’s as much as No. 31 on the planet and shall be seeded on the Australian Open.
Evans missed the top of final 12 months after sustaining a calf harm in Vienna, so he’s slightly bit rusty. Nevertheless, the Fortieth-ranked Brit did nicely to get began in Adelaide with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Rinky Hijikata. Just about any match involving Bublik can go both approach, however given his previous success on this matchup mixed with Evans’ day off makes the No. 8 seed the favourite on this one.
Decide: Bublik in 3