Australian Open: Fritz vs Popyrin Tennis Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Australian Open as Taylor Fritz takes on Alexei Popyrin in the Round of 64 on Thursday, January 19, 2023.

Will Taylor Fritz get the win? Will Alexei Popyrin pull off the upset? This will be a fascinating one, where we have the top American looking to fight past a crowd favorite. Who will triumph and move through to the Round of 32 at the 2023 Australian Open?

Taylor Fritz got a tough 4 set win over Basilashvili to set up an exciting meeting with another big server and a local Australian as they clash for a place in the Round of 32. Fritz should win this one, but he’s had some strange losses in the past and it’s hard to predict exactly which Fritz will show up on the court, even if he is quite consistent for the most part. Let’s see the level he can bring at the 2023 Australian Open.

Alexei Popyrin got an epic 5 set win over Zheng, and no doubt he will be tired but very fired up for his 2nd round match against Taylor Fritz. This would not be the most improbable upset that could happen, now it would still be quite the shock, but we haven’t seen Fritz truly display his consistency at the majors yet. Let’s see what the Australian can do as he looks to somehow extend his stay into the 3rd round here at the 2023 Australian Open.

Taylor Fritz and Alexei Popyrin have met once before, with Taylor Fritz leading the head to head 1-0. Their one meeting came last season in 2022 in Washington, definitely a positive for Fritz going into this one as he’ll know what to expect, and I do expect him to pull through but not without at least a little struggling as he looks to march on at the 2023 Australian Open.