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Ricky’s Preview and Picks for Day 1 at the Australian Open: Berrettini vs. Nakashima and Norrie vs. Korda
- Updated: January 15, 2022
By Ricky Dimon
The Australian Open begins on Monday, when Matteo Berrettini and Cameron
Norrie are among the seeds who are taking the court. Berrettini is going up
against Brandon Nakashima, while Norrie is facing Sebastian Korda.
Here are my previews and picks for two of the best matchups.
Brandon Nakashima vs. (7) Matteo Berrettini
Berrettini was an absolute force at Grand Slams last year, which is the main
reason why he made a second appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals (although he was
forced out by an injury in his first match). The seventh-ranked Italian reached
the quarterfinals of the French Open and U.S. Open while finishing runner-up to
Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon. In fact, Berrettini did not lose a single slam
match to anyone other than Djokovic; he was 0-3 against the world No. 1 and
16-0 against everyone else.
That is obviously bad news for Nakashima heading into round one of the
Australian Open on Monday. But the 20-year-old American can make this
competitive. He is already up to 68th in the rankings thanks in part to
back-to-back ATP finals last summer in Los Cabos and Atlanta, and he picked up
a second Grand Slam victory at the U.S. Open over John Isner. This should be
one of the more fun matchups of the entire first round, but Berrettini’s slam
experience and superior firepower with his serve and forehand will likely allow
him to take care of business.
Pick: Berrettini in 4
(12) Cameron Norrie vs.
Sebastian Korda
Norrie and Korda will be going head-to-head for the second time in their
careers on Monday. Their only previous encounter came early last season on the
hard courts of Delray Beach, where Korda prevailed 6-3, 7-5. Both guys went on
to produce stellar 2022 campaigns–especially Norrie. The British left-hander
soared to No. 12 in the world and even made a debut appearance at the Nitto ATP
Finals as an alternate. But a proverbial “sophomore slump” could be
in the cards. Norrie went 0-3 at the ATP Cup last week, losing to Alexander
Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Taylor Fritz while winning just one set in
the process.
Obviously those are formidable
opponents–but so is Korda. The 21-year-old American compiled a 31-18 record on
the main tour in 2021, including his first ATP title in Parma plus a runner-up
finish in Delray Beach. Korda has not yet played this season, but he is
well-rested and still should have plenty of momentum from ending last year with
a runner-up performance at the NextGen ATP Finals. This is Korda’s match to win
or lose, as he wields far more firepower than Norrie. I think he will be able
to deliver.
Pick: Korda in 4
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.