Australian Open 2025 Day 3: Men's singles predictions ft. Daniil Medvedev vs Kasidit Samrej, Holger Rune vs Zhang Zhizhen

The remaining first-round singles matches will be wrapped up on Day 3 of the Australian Open 2025. 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, the runner-up here two years ago, was shown the door by Alex Michelsen in the first round in the tournament's biggest upset so far.

Frances Tiafoe and Casper Ruud narrowly avoided meeting the same fate as Tsitsipas as the two needed five sets to overcome their first-round foes. Defending champion Jannik Sinner made a winning start to his title defense by beating Nicolas Jarry 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-1.

Alexander Zverev, Jiri Lehecka, Reilly Opelka, Arthur Fils, and Kei Nishikori are some of the other players to have crossed the first hurdle in Melbourne. More players will aim to join them on Tuesday. On that note, here are the predictions for some of the men's singles matches lined up on Day 3 of the Australian Open:

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#1 - Daniil Medvedev vs Kasidit Samrej

Medvedev has gotten really close to winning the Australian Open but a title has remained out of his reach. He was the runner-up here in 2021, 2022, and 2024, and led by two sets to love in the latter two finals. He didn't take part in any warm-up events this year and recently became a father for the second time.

Samrej won the Asia-Pacific Wildcard playoff to book his spot at this year's Australian Open. This will be his Grand Slam debut, and he will be the first man from Thailand to compete at a Major since his compatriot Danai Udomchoke participated in the season's first Major back in 2012.

23-year-old Samrej has won three titles on the ITF circuit in his career so far. He hasn't made his mark on the ATP Tour just yet, and directly going up against a player of Medvedev's caliber will be a huge step up in terms of quality. The Russian could be a little rusty since this will be his first professional match in a while but should be able to get the job done in the end.

Predicted winner: Daniil Medvedev

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#2 - Hubert Hurkacz vs Tallon Griekspoor

Hubert Hurkacz is the 18th seed at the Australian Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Hurkacz contested the United Cup to prepare for the Australian Open. While his team reached the final, he won only two of his five singles matches. He has a 9-6 record at the Australian Open and advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time last year.

Griekspoor had a 33-30 record in 2024 and hasn't competed since last year's Davis Cup Finals in November, where he lost to Sinner in the final. He has a 5-4 record in Melbourne and reached the third round the last two years.

Hurkacz and Griekspoor have a close rivalry, with each player having two wins over the other, and all four matches going to a deciding set. Neither has tallied back-to-back wins in this match-up, so if the pattern continues, then this will be the Pole's turn to win.

Hurkacz is yet to beat a top-50 player this year. However, Griekspoor has lost 12 of his last 13 matches against top 20 players. Given his struggles against quality opposition, the Pole should be able to win this duel.

Predicted winner: Hubert Hurkacz

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#3 - Holger Rune vs Zhang Zhizhen

Rune started the new season at the Brisbane International, where he was the runner-up last year. However, he crashed out in the first round this time. Zhang, meanwhile, ushered the new year at the United Cup, where he won only one of his three singles matches. He bowed out in the first round of the Adelaide International the following week.

Neither player has started 2025 on a strong note. Rune has a 4-3 record at the Australian Open, with a fourth-round showing in 2023 being his best result. Zhang has a 1-2 record at the venue and reached the second round last year.

This will be the first career meeting between them. With both being far from their best these days, Rune's prior record does make him the favorite heading into this match.

Predicted winner: Holger Rune

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#4 - Karen Khachanov vs Adrian Mannarino

Karen Khachanov at the Australian Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Khachanov participated in the Hong Kong Open to start the year, where he failed to win a match in singles but was the runner-up in doubles. He has an 18-8 record at the Australian Open and advanced to the semifinals in 2023.

Mannarino reached the fourth round of the Australian Open last year and struggled to win back-to-back matches after that. He showed signs of a resurgence towards the end of the season. He has a 14-15 record Down Under, with a couple of fourth-round appearances being his best results.

Khachanov leads Mannarino 4-0 in the head-to-head and won their previous encounter at the Kremlin Cup 2021 in straight sets. He already has a better record than the Frenchman at the Australian Open despite competing in fewer editions. Coupled with their lopsided rivalry, this is likely to be another win for the Russian.

Predicted winner: Karen Khachanov