Australian Open: Rublev vs Thiem Tennis Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Australian Open as Andrey Rublev takes on Dominic Thiem in the Round of 128 on Tuesday, January 17, 2023.

Will Andrey Rublev resuscitate his 2023 season at the Australian Open? Or will Dominic Thiem inflict more woes for the hard-hitting Russian? This will be a blockbuster opening round at Melbourne Park, so who will prevail?

Andrey Rublev is yet to win a match this season, coming to this year’s Australian Open 0-2 from lead-up tournaments. He was knocked out in Adelaide1 by Roberto Bautista Agut in three sets. And in Adelaide 2, he lost to home favorite Thanasi Kokkinakis. While defeats at this early stage of the season could harm a player’s confidence, Rublev has tested himself against some very good players in the build up to the year’s first Grand Slam. Will he get that first win of 2023 against Dominic Thiem?

Dominic Thiem, for his part, only played in one tuneup event before the Australian Open and lost in straight sets to Soonwoo Kwon. He took part at the Kooyong exhibition where he lost to Alex De Minaur but did get a decent win over Frances Tiafoe. But we can’t read too much into those results. Will Thiem deliver his best performance yet since his comeback and stun the fifth seed?

Andrey Rublev leads Dominic Thiem 4-2 in the head-to-head. Rublev won their last meeting at the Gijon Open last autumn in straight sets and went on to clinch his fourth title of the season. The Russian hasn’t started the season well, which is good news if you’re Dominic Thiem. The former finalist can sense Rublev is vulnerable from the baseline and will try and maximize his depth to unsettle him and make him go for more, which at moment, the Russian is missing a lot. But I expect a response from the fifth seed here, and he’ll likely get that first win of 2023 at the Australian Open.