Coach’s Corner: Five Australian Open Top-Half Matches That Tell Us Something

The second round Australian Open top half matches aren’t about picks or predictions; they’re about habits, execution, and identity.

From managing focus under early pressure to imposing their will against uncomfortable opponents, these five top-half matchups offer real tells about who is ready to contend and who is still negotiating with themselves.

Daniil Medvedev vs. Quentin Halys

Quentin Halys serves big, plays flat, and can shorten points enough to make this uncomfortable early.

The problem is that Daniil Medvedev is red hot, and his unorthodox return positioning can completely disrupt a rhythm-based hitter like Yannick Hanfmann.

Medvedev is a three-time finalist who clearly struggled mentally in 2025. So far, though, he’s been a good boy.

The wins have been convincing, the focus has held, and this becomes less about talent and more about whether he behaves himself long enough to navigate the early resistance and get through this section cleanly.

Frances Tiafoe vs. Francisco Comesaña

This is one match where I want to see Frances Tiafoe bury Francisco Comesaña into the blue Melbourne Park Flexicushion.

Nothing else will convince me he’s anything more than Carlos Alcaraz’s exhibition foil.

Comesaña isn’t a hard-court player. He went 12–13 on cement in 2025, and this surface gives Tiafoe all the tools he needs to dictate.

The serve and forehand must control the match from start to finish, and they should be against a big-hitting grinder whose best tennis still lives on clay.

Tomás Martín Etcheverry vs. Arthur Fery

Tomás Martín Etcheverry is coming off a 19–15 hard-court season, yet somehow found a way to outslug a very solid Miomir Kecmanović in five demanding sets.

Is he back? We won’t have to wait long to find out.

Arthur Fery is a spunky qualifier who has earned this spot the hard way, taking out highly touted teenager Dino Prizmic in qualifying, then rolling past a clearly distressed Flavio Cobolli in straight sets.

This is a real measuring stick to see how Fery’s game holds up when the opponent can absorb pace and extend rallies.

Reilly Opelka vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

Serve versus chaos. Reilly Opelka controls points when the first serve lands, but Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has already shown he can disrupt that equation, earning a straight-sets win over the big man in Atlanta with elite returning pressure.

Opelka has posted some encouraging early results, but this matchup asks a very specific question: can he return just well enough to let his serve dictate?

Davidovich Fokina owns one of the best break rates on hard courts, and the real intrigue is how often he can turn even a single loose Opelka game into damage.

Carlos Alcaraz vs. Yannick Hanfmann

On paper, straightforward. Carlos Alcaraz looked sharp as a tack in his straight-set opener. Yannick Hanfmann is a 34-year-old journeyman with a career 127–117 record on hard courts.

Alcaraz isn’t always dialed in early, so the only thing I’m really watching for here is three sets of one-dimensional lockdown tennis; no lapses, and no theatrics, against an experienced opponent playing free with nothing to lose.

For Further Reading

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Phil Naessens

Phil Naessens is a tennis betting analyst and former tennis coach with decades of experience in player development and match analysis. He is the founder of Crush Rush News and host of the Crush & Rush Tennis Podcast, focusing on price-first betting strategy, market efficiency, and transparency in sports wagering.