Australian Open: Djokovic vs De Minaur Tennis Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Australian Open as Novak Djokovic takes on Alex De Minaur in the fourth round on Monday, January 23, 2023.

Novak Djokovic is the only active champion of the Australian Open as compared to the rest of the field who have advanced into the second week. Djokovic is not getting carried away just yet and faces home favorite Alex De Minaur on Monday. Could the nine-time champion stumble?

Novak Djokovic’s 2023 Australian Open campaign has been a hot topic of conversation. The hamstring injury he picked up in Adelaide has clearly impacted Djokovic’s movement and has admitted it has bothered him in almost every match. Djokovic has been forced to take multiple medical timeouts in his straight-sets win over Grigor Dimitrov in a very physical match. Could Alex De Minaur pounce and stun the nine-time champion?

Alex De Minaur, for his part, reached the second week of the Australian Open for the second straight year. De Minaur eased past Benjamin Bonzi 7-6 6-2 6-1 in two hours and 10 minutes. De Minaur is the last Australian standing in the men’s draw, and he overcame some stubborn resistance from the Frenchman’s part in a tight first set before pulling away. He sets a date with Novak Djokovic on Monday.

Novak Djokovic and Alex De Minaur have not played each other on the ATP Tour, with this fourth-round match at Australian Open being their first meeting. Djokovic will be hoping the pain in his hamstring has lessened up because this is going to be another match where he will need to put in the hard yards. De Minaur is one of the quickest players on Tour and will certainly keep Djokovic on the move. Look, nobody knows with certainty the extent of the pain except the man himself, but it’s clear Djokovic’s movement has been affected, as is his backhand motion at times. The longer the match goes on, De Minaur will start to believe. I’ll still back the fourth seed to come through, but this will be another grueling battle.