The final week of preparation for the Australian Open begins on Monday in Adelaide, when home favorite Thanasi Kokkinakis takes on Sebastian Korda. Valentin Vacherot starts his campaign against Miomir Kecmanovic.
Thanasi Kokkinakis vs. Sebastian Korda
Korda and Kokkinakis will face each other for the fourth time in their careers when they clash in the first round of the Adelaide International on Monday night. All three of their previous meetings have gone Korda’s way – all on hard courts in the United States. Their most recent match was a memorable thriller, where the American miraculously won a match point in the second round of Washington, DC 2024… and went on to win the entire tournament.
Kokkinakis has home court advantage in this, which has certainly helped him in Adelaide over the years. The 29-year-old Australian is 14-4 in the city with a title in 2022 and two more semifinal appearances. Unfortunately for Kokkinakis, he has not played a single match since the 2025 Aussie Open due to recurring injury problems. World No. 450 played two decent doubles matches with Nick Kyrgios in Brisbane, but that doesn’t guarantee he’s ready for Adelaide.
Select: Korda in 2
Miomir Kecmanovic vs. (5) Valentin Vacherot
As recently as a few months ago, no one would have expected Vacherot to be seeded in ATP-level tournaments in 2026 – especially in early January. But that is true following Vacherot’s shock Masters 1000 title in Shanghai followed by a quarterfinal appearance in Paris. The world number 31 from Monaco lost his opening match of the year at Korda in Brisbane.
Vacherot’s opponent on Monday is Kecmanovic, whom he has never faced. The 51st-ranked Serb struggled in 2025, compiling a 24-28 record. At least he was able to capture the title in Delray Beach, but that was back in February. Kecmanovic’s recent struggles continued with a straight sets loss to Alexandre Muller in the opening round of Hong Kong, so the highly confident Vacherot should have the edge in this match.
Pick: Vacherot at 3
