Australian Open day three predictions & tennis tips: Griekspoor to be top Dutch

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

Where to watch

Live on Eurosport, midnight Tuesday

Best bets

Francisco Cerundolo to beat Corentin Moutet
1pt 4-5 general

Tallon Griekspoor to beat Botic van de Zandschulp
1pt Evs general

Cori Gauff to win 2-0 v Emma Raducanu
1pt 10-11 bet365, Coral & Ladbrokes

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Day three preview

Rafael Nadal’s reward for a first-round win over British youngster Jack Draper is a second-round date with American Mackenzie McDonald, who came through an epic five-set battle with compatriot Brandon Nakashima.

Despite needing four sets to see off Draper, defending champion Nadal ought to have the answers for McDonald, while 15th seed Jannik Sinner is also a red-hot favourite to dispatch Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

The pick of the women’s matches sees former US Open heroine Emma Raducanu lock horns with fellow rising talent Cori Gauff, the American 18-year-old who is many people’s idea of a potential Melbourne winner.

World number one Iga Swiatek and third seed Jessica Pegula are also in action and should have few concerns in their second-round showdowns with Camila Osorio and Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Francisco Cerundolo v Corentin Moutet

Frenchman Corentin Moutet needed five sets and four hours and 12 minutes of court-time before seeing off first-round opponent Wu Yibing and that could leave him vulnerable against Francisco Cerundolo.

The Argentinian 28th seed found things far more routine in his opening clash with compatriot Guido Pella, winning 6-4 6-4 6-3, and there is plenty to like about his game.

Cerundolo would perhaps be more accustomed to a clay court but last year’s run to the Miami Open semi-final, where his list of scalps included Tallon Griekspoor, Reilly Opelka, Gael Monfils, Frances Tiafoe and Jannik Sinner, shows the dangers of underestimating him.

Those performances are part of the reason why Cerundolo finds himself so high in the rankings - 33 places above Moutet - and there is value in backing him as a slight favourite for this contest.

Tallon Griekspoor v Botic van de Zandschulp

This all-Dutch affair can go the way of the non-seeded player Tallon Griekspoor, who should be full of confidence after winning his warm-up event and claiming a maiden ATP Tour title at last week’s Maharashtra Open.

Botic van de Zandschulp was also involved in that Indian event but was beaten in his semi-final encounter by Benjamin Bonzi, who was Griekspoor’s victim in the Pune title decider.

That could be a valuable piece of form and makes Griekspoor, who also overcame Jaume Munar, Marco Cecchinato and Aslan Karatsev in that event, the play at the prices.

Van de Zandschulp needed four sets to see off Ilya Ivashka in his Melbourne opener, whereas Griekspoor eased past Pavel Kotov 6-3 7-6 6-3.

Emma Raducanu v Cori Gauff

Raducanu has flattered to deceive ever since being crowned a shock winner of the US Open in 2021 and the Brit may be on the end of a convincing defeat against her Australian Open second-round opponent Gauff.

These are thought to be two of the best young players on the planet and although Raducanu has already made her presence felt at the top table, it shouldn’t be long before Gauff does too.

The 18-year-old phenomenon was runner-up at last season’s French Open and the world number seven is already a three-time winner on the WTA Tour.

Gauff prepared for her Australian Open title tilt with silverware at the ASB Classic in Auckland, where she won all five of her matches in straight sets.

The Atlanta ace was also a comfortable 6-1 6-4 winner over Katerina Siniakova in her Melbourne opener and she can repeat the dose against Raducanu, who still has plenty to prove despite her straight-set win over Tamara Korpatsch on day one.

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