Australian Open: Carreno Busta vs Bonzi Tennis Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Australian Open as Pablo Carreno Busta takes on Benjamin Bonzi in the Round of 64 on Thursday, January 19, 2023.

Pablo Carreno Busta’s underwhelming start to 2023 makes him a vulnerable seed at this year’s Australian Open. So how will the Spaniard fare when he plays big-hitting Benjamin Bonzi in the second round?

Pablo Carreno Busta was able to get the monkey off his back, picking his first win of the season at this year’s Australian Open. Carreno Busta dug out a gutsy 7-6 6-1 7-6 win over Pedro Cachin, that for most parts did not look as straightforward. Cachin matched Carreno Busta pound for pound in every baseline exchange, but could not keep up with the Spaniard’s depth in the two tiebreaks which proved decisive. Next up for the 14th seed is France’s Benjamin Bonzi.

Benjamin Bonzi, for his part, came from a set down to defeat Italy’s Mattia Bellucci on Court 15 at the 2023 Australian Open. Bonzi, who started the year in sublime form reaching his first ATP final in Pune, won a key third set in the tiebreak to swing the match in his favor and did not relinquish his lead en route to a 4-6 6-3 7-6 6-4 in just over three hours. He will now face his first big test in the form of Pablo Carreno Busta.

Pablo Carreno Busta and Benjamin Bonzi have not played each other on the ATP Tour. Wednesday’s match at the Australian Open will be their first official meeting. Bonzi had a very good attacking display in beating Bellucci in the previous round, but he will need to cut down his unforced error count (42 winners to 39 unforced errors) to give Busta plenty of thinking to do from the baseline. But it appears the Spaniard just needed a headstart to get his season up and running. We reckon the 14th seed will survive.