Marcos Giron vs Jack Draper Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Australian Open

Prediction published on 14/01/2024, 07:56  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 14/01/2024 at 08:57 in ATP Australian Open Predictions

Two unseeded players face each other in this Australian Open first round match. Jack Draper takes on Marcos Giron with the winner facing either 14th seed Tommy Paul or unseeded Gregoire Barrere. Draper is 55th in the live rankings and comes into this tournament in good form. He reached the final in the Adelaide International but lost to Jiri Lehecka. Draper beat two seeds in that event, Tommy Paul (who he could meet in round two here) and Alexander Bublik. 2023 saw him lose in the first round but he did draw Rafael Nadal. The year ended better for him with a run to the fourth round of the US Open. He's injury free at present and will be a dangerous player if repeating the form shown in Adelaide.

Marcos Giron is 66th in the live rankings and hasn't made a good start to 2024. His only match has been in Auckland where he lost in his first match to Daniel Altmaier in straight sets. The American is making his fifth appearance in this hard court Grand Slam tournament. It's not one in which he has had success in the past. All four of his previous first round matches have ended in defeat. He'd much rather be playing on clay as his best Grand Slam performance is a third round at Roland Garros in 2021 and 2023.  We tip him to lose another first round match.