The second round of the Australian Open starts on Wednesday, when seeds Alexander Bublik and Daniil Medvedev take the court. They will face Marton Fucsovics and Quentin Halys respectively.
(10) Alexander Bublik vs. Marton Fucsovics
The new and improved version of Bublik that was on display for most of 2025 doesn’t seem to be going anywhere in 2026. Bublik opened the season with a title in Hong Kong, moving him into the top 10 of the rankings for the first time in his career. The 28-year-old kept the momentum going with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 whitewash of Jenson Brooksby on Sunday.
Bublik’s next match on Wednesday is an extremely favorable match for him against Fucsovics, who are trailing 5-1 in the head-to-head series (4-0 at ATP level). They have met just once since 2022, when Bublik won 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the 2024 Doha tournament. Fucsovics defeated clay-court specialist Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the first round, but he had previously been 3-8 in his last 11 matches since winning the Winston-Salem title last year. Although the Hungarian is solid in 54th place, this match will be entirely in Bublik’s racket. That used to be a bad thing for the Kazakhs, who were once his own worst enemy. Now it’s a great thing.
Choice: Bublik in 3
(11) Daniil Medvedev vs. Quentin Halys
Medvedev and Halys will face each other for the fourth time in their careers on Wednesday. Both previous encounters on the main tour went Medvedev’s way: 6-4, 6-2 at the 2023 Miami Masters and 6-2, 7-5 at the 2025 Halle event. Halys at least managed a 7-6(7), 6-4 win at Futures level in 2015.
The fact that the Frenchman lost in straight sets last summer – when Medvedev was not playing well – is not a good sign for his disrupted chances. Now the 29-year-old Russian is playing great, with a 20-4 record in his last 24 games – including titles in Almaty and Brisbane. Medvedev defeated Jesper de Jong on Monday, while Halys made quick work of Alejandro Tabilo. The world number 83 has the weapons to be dangerous, but he wouldn’t be able to beat Medvedev on the grass courts of Halle and he certainly won’t be able to do so on the medium hard courts of Melbourne.
Choice: Medvedev in 3
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