The second round competition at the Australian Open begins on Wednesday, when Alexander Bublik and Daniil Medvedev take to the court. They will face Marton Fucsovics and Quentin Halys, respectively.
(10) Alexander Bublik vs. Marton Fucsovics
The new and improved version of the Bublik that was shown for most of 2025 looks like it’s going nowhere in 2026. Bublik opened the season with a title in Hong Kong that put him in the top 10 of the rankings for the first time in his career. The 28-year-old continued his momentum with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Jenson Brooksby on Sunday.
Next up for Bublik on Wednesday was his best match against Fucsovics, trailing the head-to-head series 5-1 (4-0 at the ATP level). They have only met once since 2022, when Bublik won 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the 2024 Doha tournament. Fucsovics beat clay court specialist Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the first round, but had previously gone 3-8 in his last 11 matches since winning last year’s title at Winston-Salem. Although the 54th-ranked Hungarian is strong, this match will be in Bublik’s place. That used to be a bad thing for the Kazakhs, who were his biggest enemy. Now it’s a big deal.
Choose: Bublik in 3
(11) Daniil Medvedev vs. Quentin Halys
Medvedev and Halys will be fighting each other for the fourth time in their career on Wednesday. Both of their top tour meetings went Medvedev’s way – 6-4, 6-2 at the 2023 Miami Masters and 6-2, 7-5 at the 2025 Halle event. Halys at least managed to win 7-6(7), 6-4 at the Futures level back in 2015.
That the Frenchman lost in straight sets last summer – when Medvedev was not playing well – does not bode well for his chances of an upset. Now the 29-year-old Russian is on a roll, with a 20-4 record in his last 24 matches – including titles in Almaty and Brisbane. Medvedev introduced Jesper de Jong on Monday, while Halys made quick work of Alejandro Tabilo. The 83rd world has dangerous weapons, but he couldn’t beat Medvedev on the grass courts of Halle and he certainly won’t be able to do it on the medium hard courts of Melbourne.
Pick: Medvedev at 3
