A couple of Australian wildcards feature on Day 5, but it looks like their runs could stop in round two. One of the tournament favourites, Amanda Anisimova, also takes the court.
LEG 1 - Munar vs Ruud Over 3.5 Sets
I think Munar can make this interesting. While Ruud leads the head-to-head 6-1, on hard courts it’s much tighter at 2-1.
They met at last year’s Australian Open where Ruud won in five sets, then played again in Dallas a few weeks later where Ruud needed a deciding third set.
Ruud has been underwhelming on hard courts for a while, so this shapes as another match that goes at least four sets.
LEG 2 - Karen Khachanov
Khachanov is a consistent Grand Slam performer. His first-round match went five sets, but it was a tricky draw against world number 38 Alex Michelsen.
He now faces another American in Nishesh Basavareddy, who came through qualifying in bizarre circumstances when an opponent appeared to misinterpret the super tiebreak rules, before beating Christopher O’Connell in round one.
Khachanov is a level above O’Connell and has already beaten Basavareddy at the US Open last year in four sets. He should be too strong again.
LEG 3 - Valentin Vacherot
The sample size on Vacherot is still small, but his late-2025 surge was remarkable, winning the Shanghai Masters as a qualifier from outside the top 200 and then backing it up with a quarter-final run at the Paris Masters to move inside the top 40.
He faces Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata, whose ranking has slipped outside the top 100. Hijikata smashed a completely out-of-form Mannarino in round one, but his record against top-50 opposition over the past 52 weeks is just 2-8, with one win on clay and the other against a clay-courter on hard.
Vacherot looks to have too many weapons here.
LEG 4 - Amanda Anisimova
Anisimova is a genuine title threat, so it would be a major surprise if she lost this second-round match.
She’s up to world number four after reaching the Wimbledon and US Open finals last year, and is 24-7 since Wimbledon, including a 17-2 record against opponents outside the top 20.
Based on Siniakova’s lead-in form, it’s hard to see an upset here.
LEG 5 - Linda Noskova
Noskova has climbed to world number 13 and is one of the most dangerous hard-court players in the women’s draw.
She takes on Australian Taylah Preston, who impressed with a three-set upset win in round one.
Preston has played well in the lead-up, but she’s had limited exposure to the top tier, holding a 1-4 career record against the top 30. Noskova should be too good on this surface.
Multi = $4.88
