In-form Czechs Tomas Machac and Jakub Mensik will look to continue their winning ways at the Australian Open on Thursday. They will face Stefanos Tsitsipas and Raphael Jodar respectively in round two.
Tomas Machac vs. (31) Stefanos Tsitsipas
This is a rare case where an unseeded player is ranked higher (by a lot) than a seeded player. And it is well deserved too. When healthy, Machac has played fantastic tennis over the past 12 months. Tsitsipas’ career, on the other hand, is in an alarming decline. Will their paths continue to diverge when they face each other in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday, or can Tsitsipas get back on track?
Their only previous meeting came on Vienna’s indoor hard courts in 2023, when Tsitsipas prevailed 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. More than two years later, however, the story looks very different. Machac won an ATP 500 title in Acapulco last season and already has one trophy to his name in 2026 after triumphing in Adelaide on Saturday. The 24th-ranked Czech extended his winning streak to six matches by obliterating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday. Tsitsipas defeated Shintaro Mochizuki and played well in the United Cup, but also lost to Aleksandar Vukic in Adelaide. Inconsistency remains a major problem for the 35th Greek. If If the current version of Machac reappears on Thursday, he will take time away from Tsitsipas’ backhand and should enter the third round.
Choice: Machac in 3
(16) Jakub Mensik vs. (Q) Raphael Jodar
It will be an intriguing confrontation between rising stars when Mensik and Jodar meet for the first time in their careers on Thursday. At just 20 years old, Mensik is already Masters 1000 champion (Miami 2025) and is ranked 17th in the rankings. The remainder of the Czech’s 2025 season has been unspectacular at best, but he already has a title this season (Auckland) and managed to beat Pablo Carreno Busta in five sets on Tuesday.
Jodar also needed five in the first round, fending off fellow NextGen star Rei Sakamoto 7-6(6), 6-1, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3. The 19-year-old Spaniard is simply on fire these days. He is 23-3 in his last 26 matches (including challengers), highlighted by an upset of Learner Tien at the NextGen ATP Finals and successful qualifying at Melbourne Park. However, this is a huge step forward for Jodar; his match with Tien is the only time in his career he has ever met someone from the top 100. This could be a 50/50 match in a year or so, but right now it’s Mensik who has the edge, especially on this kind of stage.
Choice: Mensik in 4
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