Australian Open day five predictions & tennis tips: Side with Shapovalov

Free tennis tips, best bets and analysis for day five of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Friday.

Where to watch

Live on Eurosport, midnight Thursday

Best bets

Frances Tiafoe to beat Karen Khachanov
1pt Evs general

Denis Shapovalov to beat Hubert Hurkacz
2pts 10-11 bet365, Coral, Ladbrokes

Jessica Pegula to win 2-0 v Marta Kostyuk
1pt 5-6 general

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Day five preview

Day five of the Australian Open sees the start of the third round and it will be minus defending men's champion Rafael Nadal who suffered a shock straight-set defeat to American Mackenzie McDonald in round two.

Friday’s play will still feature a number of heavy hitters though, as last year’s runner-up Daniil Medvedev and young pretenders Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime all take to the court.

It is also a defining day in the women’s draw as world number one Iga Swiatek takes on Bianca Andreescu’s conqueror Cristina Busca and Cori Gauff, who eased past Britain's Grand Slam hero Emma Raducanu in round two, faces fellow American Bernarda Pera.

Karen Khachanov v Frances Tiafoe

In what promises to be a blockbuster third-round clash, American ace Frances Tiafoe should have the answers against Karen Khachanov.

Tiafoe is ranked three places above the Russian in the rankings and, having found some consistency, it’s tough to see why he isn’t considered a clear favourite.

The world number 17 made his first Grand Slam semi-final at last year’s US Open, a tournament in which he had defeated Nadal and Andrey Ruvlev before losing in an epic five-set battle with eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.

On the back of that, Tiafoe made a title decider in Tokyo before reaching the quarter-final of the Paris Masters, two more efforts which suggested he may now be ready to climb the rankings.

Tiafoe kick-started this campaign by helping his country win the United Cup - he won all four singles matches - and he has dropped just one set when overcoming Daniel Altmaeir and Juncheng Shang in this Melbourne major.

Hubert Hurkacz v Denis Shapovalov

Despite a lofty world ranking, tenth seed Hubert Hurkacz has yet to cut the mustard in Grand Slam competitions, and the Pole may be found wanting again against Denis Shapovalov.

Hurkacz has made a semi-final of Wimbledon but this is the first time at the ninth attempt that he has come past the second-round of a hard-court Slam.

And, even then, the 25-year-old from Wroclaw made hard work of doing so as he needed five sets and just under four hours of playing time to see off Lorenzo Sonego in round two, something Shapovalov can exploit.

The Canadian isn’t the most consistent but he saves his best efforts for the big stage, which was highlighted by a run to the quarter-final of this event last year.

Shapovalov was overhauled in a final-set decider by eventual champion Nadal last year but should have learned plenty from that experience.

The 23-year-old should be capable of some big things in the near future and, following wins over Dusan Lajovic and Taro Daniel, should fancy his chances of upsetting Hurkacz and teeing up a potential date with Medvedev.

Jessica Pegula v Marta Kostyuk

Jessica Pegula has been a beaten Australian Open quarter-finalist in each of the last two years, but a scintillating start to the season suggests the American world number three is determined to do better.

The 28-year-old, having played a key role in America’s United Cup triumph, has won all six of her matches in 2023 in straight sets and can repeat the trick against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.

Pegula’s scalps this season include Swiatek and the manner of her easy wins over Jaqueline Cristian and Aliaksandra Sasnovich at Melbourne Park spells trouble for 20-year-old Kostyuk, who fell at this hurdle to Paula Badosa last year.

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