Frances Tiafoe vs Tomas Machac Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Australian Open

Prediction published on 16/01/2024, 05:25  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 16/01/2024 at 06:25 in ATP Australian Open Predictions

Frances Tiafoe is the 17th seed in the Australian Open and faces unseeded Tomas Machac in round two. For the winner, there's a third round match (last 32) against either 15th seed Karen Khachanov or the qualifier Aleksandar Kovacevic. Tiafoe beat Borna Coric in four sets in the first round, losing the third one. The American was ranked 17th when this first Grand Slam of the year began and is up to 14th in the live list. He only played one warm-up tournament before this event. That was in Hong Kong where he lost to Juncheng Shang in the quarter finals. Tiafoe reached the quarter finals here five years ago and last year wa beaten in round three.

Tomas Machac was down at 75th at the start of this Grand Slam. The Czech beat lucky loser Shintaro Mochizuki in the first round, winning in straight sets and dropping only 11 games. This is his fourth time in the Australian Open but he's never made it past this stage. This is his third time in round two but he faces a tough task to win this match. His only previous meeting against Tiafoe was also played in Australia. Two years ago, Tiafoe won the first set and Machac retired injured in the second when 4-2 up. Machac is up to 68th in the live rankings, four places below his career high. His only other tournament this year saw him beaten in his first match in the Adelaide International, winning only two games. We tip Tiafoe to get the win in this match.