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Match Details
Fixture: (3) Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Shevchenko
Date: January 13, 2025
Tournament: Australian Open 2025
Round: First Round (Round of 128)
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Hard (outdoor)
Prize Money: A$ 96,500,000
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel, ESPN | UK - Eurosport | Canada - TSN, RDS
Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Shevchenko preview
Four-time Major champion Carlos Alcaraz will lock horns with Alexander Shevchenko in the first round of the Australian Open 2025 on January 13.
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Alcaraz started 2024 with a quarterfinal showing at the season's first Major. His next notable result was a successful title defense at the Indian Wells Masters. After spending most of the clay swing injured, he fought his way to the French Open title, his third at the Majors.
Alcaraz then beat Novak Djokovic in a rematch of previous year's Wimbledon final to retain the title. However, he lost to the Serb in the final of the Paris Olympics, and had to settle for the silver medal. The North American swing was subpar for the young Spaniard, culminating in a shock second-round exit from the US Open.
The 21-year-old bounced back with a title at the China Open, and wrapped up the year with a group-stage exit from the ATP Finals. He didn't participate in any warm-up events prior to the Australian Open 2025, and instead played a couple of exhibition matches to prepare himself.
Shevchenko, meanwhile, had a 21-28 record last year, with quarterfinal appearances in Monpellier, Geneva, Rotterdam, and Almaty being his best results. He didn't advance beyond the second round at the Majors, and reached the third round of a Masters 1000 tournament only once.
He started the new season by taking part in the United Cup, where he won two of his four singles matches, including a win over World No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Shevchenko head-to-head
Alcaraz leads Shevchenko 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at last year's Madrid Open in straight sets.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Shevchenko odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Shevchenko prediction
History is on the line for Alcaraz at this year's Australian Open. Winning the title in Melbourne would make him the youngest man to achieve the Career Grand Slam. His best result here has been a quarterfinal appearance, and he made it that far Down Under for the first time just last year.
Shevchenko lost in the first round of the Australian Open on his debut last year. He has tallied only three wins across all of his Major appearances thus far. He could only muster three games against Alcaraz when they crossed paths in their only prior encounter in Madrid last year.
Shevchenko has never beaten a player ranked in the top five, and Alcaraz has never crashed out in the first round of a Major. The Spaniard's first step towards completing his goal here should begin with a comfortable win.
Pick: Carlos Alcaraz to win in straight sets.
