DESPITE being Round 1 of a long tournament, there is still much intrigue into a number of Australian Open matches, with plenty of upsets potentially brewing on Day 1 which starts tomorrow.

PICK OF THE DAY: Venus Williams (USA) vs. Coco Gauff (USA)

Our pick for Day 1 has to be the battle of the Americans with so many different potential storylines. In what will be a repeat of the Wimbledon Round 1 clash, veteran Venus Williams will take on teenager Coco Gauff. There is a whopping 24 years difference between them and to put it in perspective, Williams had won 29 – yep 29 singles titles before Gauff was even born. This included four Grand Slams and an Olympics Gold Medal. While the former Grand Slam champion is past her prime and well overshadowed by her younger sister Serena, Williams is a champion in her own right and with the end now in sight, she will want to go out with a bang. Gauff’s career is only just beginning and for the 15-year-old she will hope to gain some extra ranking points before she is able to compete regularly once she turns 16 in March. Gauff defeated Williams in straight sets back in Wimbledon to throw her into the limelight, but the wily veteran will not want to go out so easily.

CLOSE SECOND: Reilly Opelka (USA) vs. [12] Fabio Fognini (ITA)

This clash between the world number 12 and the emerging giant American will be a certain must-watch and our pick of the day for the men’s draw. Opelka stands at 211cm and is a powerful unit, ranked 38th in the world. He is one of a number of young Americans looking to renew the strength in the nation’s male dominance it had during the 1990s and early 2000s. He and Fognini played twice last year, with both matches coming on hardcourt and going the distance. In the first round of the US Open, Opelka upset Fognini in four sets, 6-3 6-4 6-7 6-3, before just a month later, Fognini got the better of Opelka in the Davis Cup Finals, winning a similar 6-4 6-7 6-3. Fognini’s start to the year has been slow, winning just one of four games and was beaten by two players outside the top 50. Opelka also had an unlucky start to the season, going down 5-7 7-6 7-6 to Pablo Cuevas in the first round at Adelaide. Now the pair will hope to get their season going in what will be a huge clash given the relative weakness of the eighth of that draw (only Matteo Berrettini is ranked inside the top 25).

PODIUM: Kyle Edmund (GBR) vs. [24] Dusan Lajovic (SRB)

For the Australian tennis public, these two players might not be opponents you are particularly going to tune in to watch, but the history between the pair is interesting based on their relative ranking. Dusan Lajovic is in solid form this year, winning four of six games, while Edmund is yet to triumph in 2020. Most interestingly, these two have played twice on the ATP Tour, with Edmund winning on both occasions. The world number 69 defeated Lajovic 6-3 7-6 in Bejing on hard court, while also knocking him off in the Davis Cup back in 2016 with a 6-3 6-4 7-6 victory. Earlier that year, Edmund won in a round two qualifying match at the ATP Masters 1000 in Shanghai, defeating Lajovic 6-4 2-6 6-3. The Serbian is in better form and higher ranked, but you can never discount the South African-born Brit who currently sits at a 50 per cent win-loss ratio on tour with 107 wins and 107 losses.

TOP 5: [1] Ash Barty (AUS) vs. Lesia Tsurenko (UKR)

There seems to be a common misconception that the world number one and Australia’s sentimental hero, Ash Barty has an easy draw leading up to the quarter finals. This could not be more wrong because when she walks out onto Rod Laver Arena tomorrow, she will face a player who not only beat her last time out, but smashed her in straight sets. The 42nd ranked Lesia Tsurenko was seeded this time last year, and the Ukrainian came up against Barty in the lead-up tournament in Brisbane, knocking her out in the first round, 6-3 6-2. On that day, Tsurenko’s serve was almost unstoppable and while Barty has beaten Tsurenko – all the way back in 2014 before she left the racquet for a cricket bat – it is a different time now. Expect Barty to win, she is the world number one after all, but do not expect it to be a one-sided affair that some people might assume from first glance. Barty’s triumph in the Adelaide International will give her great confidence heading into her home Grand Slam.

TOP 5: John Millman (AUS) vs. Ugo Humbert (FRA)

With Alex de Minaur out of the Australian Open, Millman rolls up to Australia’s second hope behind Nick Kyrgios in the men’s draw. He has come up against stiff opposition in the first round with a match against red-hot Frenchman, Ugo Humbert. The 21-year-old showed what he was capable of in Auckland, claiming his maiden title in the ASB Classic. The 47th ranked Millman is the traditional journeyman who has won over Australia with his ability to never give in and fight to the end. He stunned world number 21, Felix Auger-Aliassime at the ATP Cup with a straight sets win, 6-4 6-2 after a less than impressive three-set victory over 487th Greek player, Michail Pervolarakis. Millman will have his work cut out for him, and with Humbert in terrific form, the Frenchman will start favourite and sadly for the home crowd, will show exactly why he is a star of the future.

OTHERS TO KEEP IN MIND:

[25] Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS) vs. Jil Teichmann (SUI)

The in-form Ekaterina Alexandrova should continue her winning run here at Melbourne Park with a match against the 22-year-old Swiss talent in Jil Teichmann. Form is crucial heading into a Grand Slam, and Alexandrova has not lost in a few months, but has also not played at the highest level for those tournaments. She has not beaten Teichmann since 2015, and that was in a narrow three-set win in Leipzeg. Teichmann has won the two encounters since in straight sets, defeating the Russian at Braunschweig later in 2015 – to take home that title – before doubling up in Prague last year with a 6-3 6-4 win. You cannot fault Alexandrova’s form in 2020 and at the back-end of 2019, regardless of opponent. She picked up a number of good wins, won her first WTA Tour title and now looks to build on that in the year’s first Grand Slam.

Feliciano Lopez (ESP) vs. [9] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)

Two Spanish veterans who would know each others’ games like the back of their hand. The 38-year-old Feliciano Lopez is now ranked 61st in the world, but he showed he still has what it takes to grind, winning two matches in a day at Auckland, including knocking off the number one seed in Fabio Fognini. His form heading into the Australian Open is solid and worthy of discussion, though his opponent is in even better form. Roberto Bautista Agut is yet to lose in 2020, going undefeated at the ATP Cup with six wins from as many games, including wins over Lajovic and Kyrgios in the finals. He did not drop an entire set for the whole tournament, and while Rafael Nadal was able to take on the top player in the opposition, Bautista Agut did his bit. The problem is, while he has had the recent form against Lopez – winning the last two occasions, both have been on clay. He is yet to beat Lopez on hard court with the Spanish veteran winning at both Indian Wells and Canada a few years back. Bautista Agut should break through for his first win against Lopez on hard court, but nothing is a given and this will likely involve some tiebreakers.

Bernarda Pera (USA) vs. [29] Elena Rybakina (KAZ)

The 20-year-old Kazakhstan player is in some superb form of late and she will look to roll into Melbourne Park with plenty of confidence. The one problem is she lost to her opponent Bernarda Pera in the pair’s only clash last year. In the second round at Jurmala, Rybakina went down to the world number 70, winning the first set 6-4 before capitulating in a 4-6 6-0 6-2 loss. Pera will be aware of Rybakina’s recent form heading in which includes back-to-back finals appearances at Shenzhen and Hobart, and will not take her lightly.

[14] Diego Schwartzman (ARG) vs. Lloyd Harris (RSA)

A month ago this matchup would not have raised many eyebrows, but now the 14th seeded Argentinian has some concerns with the South African’s recent form. Harris has knocked off some strong players on his way to the Adelaide International final, coming from qualifying to reach the decider on the back of some sublime serving. The 193cm prospect will be hard to contain for the counter puncher in Schwartzman who stand 23cm smaller than his opponent. With just the one win against Borna Coric and losses to three other seeded players in the ATP Cup, Schwartzman is not in the top echelon of players but can push opponents to the limit. Harris is still only young and could be the next Kevin Anderson for his nation, upsetting top 35 players, Pablo Carreno Busta and Cristian Garin already this year.

[WC] Lizette Cabrera (AUS) vs. [Q] Ann Li (USA)

Cabrera had a good run at the Hobart International and drew a qualifier to start the Australian Open. The only problem? It ended up being former Wimbledon Junior finalists Ann Li from the United States. The pair have never played but Li is an up-and-coming talent currently ranked 142nd in the world, just 13 spots behind Cabrera. They are both solid hitters of the ball and while Cabrera has been journeying more than Li, with a 157-144 win-loss career record, Li has a more efficient 95-57 ratio herself. Playing in the ITF circuit, Li is yet to beat anyone in the top 100, while Cabrera has made two main draw appearances at Melbourne Park but is yet to win one. The winner of this clash will celebrate their first senior women’s Grand Slam victory.