Brisbane International 2024 Day 2: Men's singles predictions ft. Holger Rune vs Max Purcell

The second day of main draw action at the Brisbane International on Monday features six singles matches. Five seeds and a wildcard will be in action at the ATP 250 event.

On the opening day at the Pat Rafter Arena, the likes of Alexei Popyrin and Alexander Shevchenko were victorious, beating Christopher O'Connell and Luca Van Assche, respectively.

Without further ado, here's a look at how the following four singles matches on the second day of action in Brisbane are expected to pan out:

#1 Ben Shelton vs Roman Saifullin

Shelton is making his Brisbane debut.

Third seed Ben Shelton opens his Brisbane campaign against Russia's Roman Saifullin.

World No. 17 Shelton is coming off a great 2023 season. He reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open, losing to eventual winner Novak Djokovic. Shelton also won the Tokyo title and reached the Australian Open quarterfinal.

Meanwhile, the 39th-ranked Saifullin will play his first competitive match since reaching the Paris Masters fourth round. Shelton triumphed in his lone meeting with Saifullin in the second round in Shanghai and should prevail again.

Pick: Shelton in straight sets.

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#2 Holger Rune vs Max Purcell

Max Purcell opens his campaign on Monday.

Top seed Holger Rune opens his Brisbane campaign against home favourite Max Purcell.

World No. 8 Rune, making his tournament debut, is coming off a group-stage exit in the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin. Meanwhile, the 45th-ranked Purcell is a doubles specialist who last appeared in Sofia, making the second round.

The two players haven't met before, but expect the more experienced and consistent Rune to prevail.

Pick: Rune in straight sets.

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#3 Sebastian Korda vs Yannick Hanfmann

Sebastian Korda

Fifth seed Sebastian Korda takes on German Yannick Hanfmann in his first-round matchup.

Korda, ranked 24th in the world, ended the 2023 season with three straight losses (Paris, Basel, Shanghai). Meanwhile, World No. 51 Hanfmann ended the season with four straight losses.

The two players haven't met before, but expect the American to take the win.

Pick: Korda in three sets.

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#4 Aslan Karatsev vs Jason Kubler

Aslan Karatsev

Aslan Karatsev gets his campaign underway against Australian wild card Jason Kubler.

World No. 35 Karatsev is coming off a loss in the first round at Vienna after making the Tokyo final. The 102nd-ranked Kubler, meanwhile, is on a three-match losing streak.

Kubler beat Karatsev in their lone meeting in the Doha opening round earlier this year, but expect the Russian to win this time.

Pick: Karatsev in three sets.