Day 3 proved to be a little more difficult with the selections going 1-2, but the numbers are decent enough through the First Round.
The Australian Open will settle down from here with the Second Round played over two days and moving into a format much more familiar to the fans.
Of course it is nice to hear the majority of the top players have moved through the First Round, but the challenges will begin to get tougher and tougher.
Conditions have not been an issue so far at the tournament, but Melbourne does tend to get very hot and that will be an issue later in the week and early into next week- for now, most players should be comfortable, although the wind and potential rainy conditions late into Day 4 could be a factor.
After a couple of 'quieter' days, the selections from Day 4 can be read below with six Picks made.
Tommy Paul - 7.5 games v Thiago Agustin Tirante: Three years ago he made the Semi Final here in Melbourne and Tommy Paul was able to work his way through to the Quarter Final last year. He won his First Round match in the 2026 tournament with something to spare and the American looks good to make it through to the Third Round again.
Six months ago, Tommy Paul was inside the top 10 of the World Rankings, but he begins this event as the World Number 20 after a relatively quiet second half of the 2025 season.
A run to the Adelaide Semi Final in the warm up to the Australian Open will have given Tommy Paul some confidence and he should have the quality of hard court tennis to beat this opponent.
Thiago Agustin Tirante may be most happy on a clay court, but he is just outside of the top 100 of the World Rankings after putting a solid year on the board on this surface.
However, the majority of those matches on the hard courts were played at Challenger or Qualifier level and this is a significant step upwards in terms of level of opponent. The serve could be an important weapon, although Tirante is facing someone who has been able to get into return games very effectively on this surface.
Tommy Paul has produced some very solid numbers against players Ranked outside the top 50 over the last twelve months- he has not only held 91% of service games played in those hard court matches, but Paul has broken in 27% of return games and he will look to put the pressure on Thiago Agustin Tirante in this one.
The break percentage moves up to 33% when only focusing on matches against players outside of the top 100 and Tommy Paul can back up the First Round win with a similar margin of victory.
Frances Tiafoe - 4.5 games v Francisco Comesana: He was able to roll through the gears after coming through a tight first set in the First Round, but Frances Tiafoe will know that he needs to be a lot better if he is going to have a serious impact in Melbourne.
Four of the last five appearances at the Australian Open have ended in the Second Round, but Frances Tiafoe has to look at this match as an opportunity.
His World Ranking has been slipping over the last several months and there is a danger that Frances Tiafoe will not be Seeded at Grand Slam events to be played in 2026. He is the Number 29 Seed at the Australian Open, but another early exit and then a couple of poor months on the Tour would push Frances Tiafoe into a position where he could end up facing top names right from the outset in a Major.
After winning in straight sets, Frances Tiafoe is taking on Francisco Comesana.
Like many playing out of South America, Francisco Comesana will spend the majority of his time playing clay court tennis and his hard court numbers have been steady, but unspectacular. Over the last twelve months, Comesana has really had a tough time when drawn against top 50 Ranked opponents and his service numbers have not been nearly as effective as they would need to be on a hard court.
Francisco Comesana is not playing an opponent who has the most consistent return on the Tour, but Frances Tiafoe may be able to begin to exert his control on the match the longer it goes.
This is what happened in the First Round and the World Number 34 might just be able to produce something similar as he looks to overcome the same spread as faced against Jason Kubler.
Alexander Zverev - 6.5 games v Alexandre Muller: This is the fourth time Alexander Zverev and Alexandre Muller will be facing one another in the last eighteen months and the second time they will be meeting in a Grand Slam played on the hard courts.
At the 2024 US Open, Alexander Zverev was able to wear down this opponent and the World Number 3 should be in control of this Second Round match, even if he can sometimes be a little too passive in his play.
Some will criticise Alexander Zverev for the slow start made against Gabriel Diallo, but that was a tough First Round match and by the end he was cruising past the Canadian. This time he will be facing an opponent who is actually Ranked lower than Diallo and the match up should be one that keeps Zverev relatively comfortable.
Alexandre Muller is getting the most out of his talent and has to be credited for his World Ranking, while he upset home hope Alexei Popyrin in the First Round. That is a win that deserves plenty of respect in a hostile atmosphere, but the Frenchman struggles on the return of serve and that will always make big wins that much harder to come.
That has been the case in the previous matches against Zverev with just 14% of return games ending in breaks of serve.
However, the most recent match saw Alexandre Muller upset Alexander Zverev on the clay courts of Hamburg and that will give the underdog some belief.
He has been stronger on the clay courts compared with the hard courts and the switch onto this surface should favour the World Number 3.
There will be moments that Alexandre Muller can roll through his service games, but the best of five set format clearly favours Alexander Zverev. A similar match to the First Round could end up developing with Zverev beginning to get a read on the Muller serve and that was the case when they played on the hard courts of New York City.
Focus will be the key for Alexander Zverev- as long as he avoids some sloppy moments, he should be the better player and can eventually make sure that shows on the final scoreboard.
Francisco Cerundolo - 5.5 games v Damir Dzumhur: He helped produce one of the winners on Day 1 at the Australian Open and Francisco Cerundolo may be worth backing to do the same with a similar level of dominance in the Second Round.
The tennis produced is pretty eye-pleasing and Cerundolo is comfortable on the hard courts.
The World Number 21 did not drop a set in the First Round win and Francisco Cerundolo is going to be very confident with this match up against a 33 year old who has been struggling to stay in the top 50 of the World Rankings.
Damir Dzumhur is the current World Number 66 and he had lost both matches played before a First Round win over a Qualifier.
He had a pretty average year on the hard courts in 2025 and Damir Dzumhur has really had issues over the last twelve months when he has faced the stronger players on the Tour. In that time, Dzumhur has lost seven of nine matches played on the hard courts against top 50 Ranked opponents and the serve has been very vulnerable in those matches with just 68% of those games ending in a hold of serve.
Someone like Francisco Cerundolo will want to use his aggression to get on top of that serve and really put Damir Dzumhur under pressure.
That was the case when they met at the Paris Masters on an indoor hard court at the end of the 2025 season and Francisco Cerundolo broke the Dzumhur serve five times in a two set win.
There is no doubt that Damir Dzumhur will have his moments of putting Francisco Cerundolo's serve under a bit of pressure and that is partly down to the aggressive, front foot tennis that the Argentinian player likes to produce. That kind of style will lead to some mistakes and Dzumhur has found breaks in 24% of return games played against Cerundolo.
However, he is yet to beat the higher Ranked player because Damir Dzumhur has won just 50% of points played behind his own serve and he has been broken in 52% of service games played. This is a number that will keep anyone under pressure and Francisco Cerundolo looks ready to move through to the Third Round at the Australian Open behind another solid victory.
The First Round win means Francisco Cerundolo has won ten of the twelve hard court matches played against opponents Ranked outside of the top 50 over the last twelve months.
In those, Francisco Cerundolo has held 78% of service games played and broken in 25% of return games and he should be able to maintain his dominance over this opponent by covering the spread on his way through to the next Round.
MY PICKS: Tommy Paul - 7.5 Games @ 2.10 Bet365 (2 Units)
Frances Tiafoe - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)
Alexander Zverev - 6.5 Games @ 1.61 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Francisco Cerundolo - 5.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
Victoria Mboko - 3.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
Elina Svitolina - 5.5 Games @ 1.80 William Hill (2 Units)
Australian Open Update: 7-4, + 3.80 Units (22 Units Staked, + 17.27% Yield)
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