Rune against Kecmanovic, De Minaur against Cerundolo

There are unseeded players all over the top half of the Australian Open draw, including Miomir Kecmanovic. The Serb will look to continue his run against Holger Rune, while Alex de Minaur takes on Francisco Cerundolo.

Miomir Kecmanovic against (13) Holger Rune

Rune and Kecmanovic will face each other for the third time in their careers when they meet in the third round of the Australian Open on Saturday. Although Kecmanovic is obviously the underdog in this game, he has played Rune hard in the past. They have split their previous two meetings; Kecmanovic prevailed 7-6 (3), 6-2 on the indoor hard courts in Stockholm in 2022 before Rune won 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 in Stockholm the next week.

This is another trick for Kecmanovic to have more success against Rune. The hard court Slams were by far the 21-year-old Dane’s worst. He won a total of seven matches at the Aussie Open and US Open, compared to a total of 17 at the French Open and Wimbledon. On the other hand, of the four, Melbourne is by far Kecmanovic’s favorite place. The 51st-ranked Serb has reached the fourth round twice and has never gotten this far at any other major. Additionally, Kecmanovic is coming off a straight sets win over Hubert Hurkacz, while Rune was tested by both Zhizhen Zhang and Matteo Berrettini. Sound the excitement alarm.

Selection: Kecmanovic in 5

(31) Francisco Cerundolo vs. (8) Alex de Minaur

De Minaur went into the tournament as by far the host country’s best hope for a breakthrough; To say that nothing has changed in two rounds would be a gross understatement. The world number 8 prevailed against his first two opponents – 6:1, 7:5, 6:4 against Botic van de Zandschulp and 6:2, 6:4, 6:3 against Tristan Boyer. De Minaur is now 4-0 at the start of this season, having won his two United Cup games in similarly dominant fashion.

Next up for the Australian is, surprisingly, his first-ever meeting with Cerundolo. Surprisingly, the first week of this tournament was even more routine for Cerundolo. In fact, in the entire draw, no one had the first two rounds easier than the Argentine. He benefited from two virtual byes and defeated the disinterested Alexander Bublik 7-6(1), 6-3, 6-2 before being eliminated in the second set by Facundo Diaz Acosta and leading 6-2, 1-0. Cerundolo is talented, but rarely gets to play against higher-ranked opponents – with one exception: a five-set defeat against Novak Djokovic at the 2024 French Open. The clash with De Minaur in Australia is unlikely to be another exception.

Selection: De Minaur in 3