Australian Open 2026
Round 3
Round 2 cont
Round 2 cont
DTM is 12 out of 14 correct predictions so far across the main draw at the Australian Open. His two deats were both in 3 set matches. Friday sees the start of the last 32. The third round is the first time higher ranked seeds come up against the potential of other seeded players. This provides for some serious tennis and some serious tens
DTM is 12 out of 14 correct predictions so far across the main draw at the Australian Open. His two deats were both in 3 set matches. Friday sees the start of the last 32. The third round is the first time higher ranked seeds come up against the potential of other seeded players. This provides for some serious tennis and some serious tension :)
Iva Jovic will be fancied by many to overcome Jasmine Paolini. But DTM is not so sure. The Italian is hardened to this stage of a grand slam and she will not be letting the youngster have it all her own way. Jasmine Paolini is a lot better than COcciaretto who Jovic lost to last week so go with the experienced Italian to win here:)
Aryna Sabalenka will obviously beat A.Potapova but this might be quite quick given the form of the Austrian. Her game was patchy at best against Raducanu. A 6-1 or even 6-0 set score would not surprise DTM especially in the second set ? Given Clara Tauson's form and game style, Mboko looks the more likely winner in this one:)
DTM recommends
J.Paolini to beat I.Jovic
A.Sabalenka to beat A.Potapova
V.Mboko to beat C.Tauson
Round 2 cont
Round 2 cont
Round 2 cont
DTM had a perfect day overnight with all 6 of his picks being correct. Most were expected but with Magda Linette winning his overall position for 2026 is looking much better. Round 2 concludes on Thursday and DTM is looking to continue his good form :)
Amanda Anisimova is a good option to beat Katerina Siniakova on her favoured surface.
DTM had a perfect day overnight with all 6 of his picks being correct. Most were expected but with Magda Linette winning his overall position for 2026 is looking much better. Round 2 concludes on Thursday and DTM is looking to continue his good form :)
Amanda Anisimova is a good option to beat Katerina Siniakova on her favoured surface. Even at 2/7 that price is value given all the qualities of both players. Anisimova is simply too good assuming she turns up healthy:)
Belinda Bencic looks good to reach at least her seeded position and will take care of the qualifier. Naomi Osaka looked very determined in winning her first round. Ruzic played well and it took a lot of guts and will to win to come through that match. This is a good indication Osaka is on it which is not always the case. She clearly wants to have a few big matches where she can showcase her fashion as well as her tennis. Cirstea is a worthy opponent but if Osaka turns up with her weapons firing at least 70% of the time then she will win:)
DTM recommends
A.Anisimova to beat K.Siniakova
B.Bencic to beat N.Bartunkova
N.Osaka to beat S.Cirstea
Round 2
Round 2 cont
Round 1 cont/Round 2
No sooner had I mentioned a positive start at the Australian Open the demons returned to haunt me. Eva Lys started well and was 6-3 & 3-1 up against Cirstea only for her to lose her way, fail to take several more break points at the end of set 2 and ultimately get beaten by a very determined Cirstea! Somehow Cocciaretto also managed to lo
No sooner had I mentioned a positive start at the Australian Open the demons returned to haunt me. Eva Lys started well and was 6-3 & 3-1 up against Cirstea only for her to lose her way, fail to take several more break points at the end of set 2 and ultimately get beaten by a very determined Cirstea! Somehow Cocciaretto also managed to lose a close 3 setter to give DTM more than a shock to the system ! Hopefully Wednesday will return to normal where DTM expects experience to count. Elina Svitolina will look to continue her decent form by beating the Pole. Vicky Mboko should have too many weapons for Caty McNally as should Diana Shnaider for the local Aussie, Gibson:)
DTM recommends
E.Svitolkina to beat L.Klimovicova
V.Mboko to beat C.McNally
D.Shnaider to beat T.Gibson
J.Paolini to beat M.Frech
M.Linette to beat A.Li
M.Andreeva to beat M.Sakkari
Round 1 cont/Round 2
Who will win this year ?
Round 1 cont/Round 2
It's good to be back in Melbourne Park where DTM's finest 2025 prediction came to fruition with Madison Keys winning her first slam. After two days DTM's predictions have all gone the right way so the signs for another great tournament look good:) E.Cocciaretto has just won in Hobart which should mean she is riding a crest of a wave. She
It's good to be back in Melbourne Park where DTM's finest 2025 prediction came to fruition with Madison Keys winning her first slam. After two days DTM's predictions have all gone the right way so the signs for another great tournament look good:) E.Cocciaretto has just won in Hobart which should mean she is riding a crest of a wave. She should account for Julia Grabher :
Other first round winners should be Ashlyn Krueger and of the outsiders Maya Joint to beat Valentova is worthy of consideration.
In Round 2 DTM recommends you back Peyton Stearns to beat Petra Marcinko after her impressive victory over Sofia Kenin.
DTM recommends
E.Cocciaretto to be J.Grabher
Ashlyn Krueger to beat Sara Bejlek
Round 2
P.Stearns to beat P.Marcinko
Round 1
Who will win this year ?
Who will win this year ?
The headline recommendation for the first round of the Australian Open is to back Eva Lys to beat S.Cirstea. Eva Lys was in great form recently in pushing Iga Swiatek to 6-4 in the final set at the United Cup. She has a formidable baseline game and will threaten Cirstea's service games continually. Her serve is her only limitating factor
The headline recommendation for the first round of the Australian Open is to back Eva Lys to beat S.Cirstea. Eva Lys was in great form recently in pushing Iga Swiatek to 6-4 in the final set at the United Cup. She has a formidable baseline game and will threaten Cirstea's service games continually. Her serve is her only limitating factor at present but against Cirstea this should not prove critical. Cirstea also has a poor second serve so basically their serves cancel each other out. The other notable factor is the form of both players in Australia. Eva Lys loves Melbourne and reached the 4th round last year. Cirstea has lost in the first round the past 3 years. DTM expects that unwanted run to continue. Age is also a significant factor with Lys approaching her peak whereas Cirstea is 35 years young.
Other first round matches that DTM considers the outcome is secure are listed below :)
DTM recommends
E.Lys to beat S.Cirstea
M.Andreeva to beat D.Vekic
E.Rybakina to beat K.Juvan
I.Jovic to beat K.Volynets
V.Mboko to beat E.Jones
M.Kessler to beat E.Arango
Who will win this year ?
Who will win this year ?
Who will win this year ?
DTM expects the big players to come to the fore in the first slam of the season. Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina are the obvious starting points. They have now been drawn in opposite halves which is a good thing for the tournament. If both players play to their best then they will reach the final. This means serving well and staying aggre
DTM expects the big players to come to the fore in the first slam of the season. Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina are the obvious starting points. They have now been drawn in opposite halves which is a good thing for the tournament. If both players play to their best then they will reach the final. This means serving well and staying aggressive on returns. Outside of these two DTM can only see Amanda Anisimova, Mirra Andreeva and possibly Iga Swiatek having the pedigree to last the course of seven matches at the required level. However when push comes to shove, their serves are not as good and this should prove the difference in the heat of Melbourne Park. The only outsiders to really consider are Victoria Mboko and Marta Kostyuk. Both of these players could upset one top player on their day but are unlikely to beat 2 or 3 in a row.
DTM believes that Iga Swiatek has not got the second serve to challenge for the title. She may get to the quarter finals but to then beat Rybakina, Anisimova/Pegula and Sabalenka is extremely unlikely. A few shocks would need to happen for her to win in Australia. Mirra Andreeva does have the game to beat the top players but DTM still has concerns over her serve and temperament when the pressure is on. If she wins in Adelaide then a semi final in Melbourne is well within reach but again Sabalenka should prove too strong. Coco Gauff is struggling with her serve and therefore will do well to reach the latter stages let alone win the title. Jasmine Paolini is another top 8 seed to avoid.
DTM recommends
Aryna v Elena in the final with a repeat outcome to Riyadh - Elena Rybakina to win the Australian Open (already advised each way at 10/1)
Mirra Andreeva to win her quarter 13/5
Draw dissected by DTM
One point Slam has the perfect winner :)
Australian Open Women's Draw
DTM and Katie dissect the draw as well as look back on the success of the One point slam. Click below for episode 3 :)
Australian Open Women's Draw
One point Slam has the perfect winner :)
Australian Open Women's Draw
Madison Keys returns to defend her title as the number 9 seed. She has been positioned in the bottom half of the draw and has to overcome Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina to even reach the final. This looks unlikely given her current form. After losing to Mboko in Adelaide the chances of a repeat win are very slim. DTM suggests that conf
Madison Keys returns to defend her title as the number 9 seed. She has been positioned in the bottom half of the draw and has to overcome Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina to even reach the final. This looks unlikely given her current form. After losing to Mboko in Adelaide the chances of a repeat win are very slim. DTM suggests that confidence and a very reliable big serve with some potency on the second serve are a minimum requirement for the overall winner. They will need to be aggressive whilst maintaining consistency on their returns and when required showed the mental toughness and grit and determination to refuse to lose when matches go close. Aryna Sabalenka is world #1 for a reason. She ticks all of these requirements so is a sensible option to win and the obvious favourite given she has just retained her title in Brisbane.
In the bottom half Amanda Anisimova and Elena Rybakina are the two to highlight first. They both have the serve to challenge Aryna Sabalenka. Rybakina is not as consistent off the ground as Anisimova but arguably the American has not yet hit the season with a confidence of wins? Jessica Pegula has the game to push both players when on song, simply because she makes them play more balls than most.
DTM believes Mirra Andreeva is close again to her best form. Her serve remains the worry. She is building some confidence in Adelaide but time will tell if she can attack her second serve enough to sustain a challenge throughout 7 matches. Mboko and Andreeva are potentially Sabalenka's awkward opponents to reach the final. You can put a line through Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek. They are simply not serving well enough.
One point Slam has the perfect winner :)
One point Slam has the perfect winner :)
One point Slam has the perfect winner :)
Jordan Smith, one of only a handful of amateurs overcame several professionals including Amanda Anisimova and Jannik Sinner to win the very first one point slam. This event was inserted into the qualifying week as an innovation to attract the crowds and entertain the fans. Well it certainly did that. Everyone appeared to love the event an
Jordan Smith, one of only a handful of amateurs overcame several professionals including Amanda Anisimova and Jannik Sinner to win the very first one point slam. This event was inserted into the qualifying week as an innovation to attract the crowds and entertain the fans. Well it certainly did that. Everyone appeared to love the event and broad smiles could be seen throughout the evening. Although very much a fun event, here was proof that you don't need any hype or massive changes to the rules to close the gap between amateurs and professionals. All you need is to shorten the match to a single point and a single serve. Then it seems that anyone can really win:)
Melbourne Park is ready to go :)
Australian Open Women's Qualifying Draw
One point Slam has the perfect winner :)
The sunshine, the crowds and the stadiums are all guaranteed for the first grand slam of the year. Melbourne has a wonderful reputation for providing a great show to tennis fans from all over the world:) The qualifying week had the added attraction of the one point slam which was a real treat to those who watched it on Wednesday. What a w
The sunshine, the crowds and the stadiums are all guaranteed for the first grand slam of the year. Melbourne has a wonderful reputation for providing a great show to tennis fans from all over the world:) The qualifying week had the added attraction of the one point slam which was a real treat to those who watched it on Wednesday. What a wonderful initiative and much more m memorable than the US Open Mixed doubles. Possibly an event that will be repeated :) Well done to Jordan Smith who was the unlikely champion. The draw will take place on Thursday and will give DGTM plenty to think about as we consider who will lift the trophy, so memorably won by Madison Keys last year.
