Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Australian Open match.
Carlos Alcaraz, the world number three, will face Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka in his second match at the Australian Open. Nishioka, who advanced after winning in four sets in the qualifiers, will be looking to challenge the Spaniard.
Yoshihito Nishioka
Japan's top player and the world's number 65 has already surpassed his previous Australian Open performance. Last time, he faced the eighth seed Holger Rune in the first round and fell in four sets (2:6, 6:4, 6:7, 4:6). Nishioka's best result at the Melbourne courts was reaching the fourth round in 2023, marking a career-high season for Yoshihito. By advancing to the fourth round in the first two Grand Slams of the season, he climbed to the 24th spot in the world rankings by early summer.
Carlos Alcaraz
In contrast to his second-round opponent, who has already participated in two tournaments in Australia, Alcaraz hasn't played since mid-November, when he defeated a competitor from the Netherlands in the Davis Cup Finals quarter-final stage. Alcaraz started this tournament calmly, winning in straight sets against Kazakhstan's Alexander Shevchenko (6:1, 7:5, 6:1). It's worth noting that the world number 77 put up a six-minute resistance in the final game, coming back from 15-40 and reaching deuce three times.
Yoshihito Nishioka vs Carlos Alcaraz Prediction
The two players have met once before, back in 2022 at the Paris Masters, where the Spaniard won a hard-fought match 6:4, 6:4. This time, Alcaraz may have to exert considerable effort, possibly even more than against his previous opponent.
