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Tennis | Australian Open 2023 | Evans takes on Bagnis, Norrie takes on Van Assche after Auckland heartbreak

Tony Fairbairn
Tennis

By Tony Fairbairn

  • Dan Evans [25] v Facundo Bagnis | H2H: Evans leads 1-0
  • Cameron Norrie [11] v Luca Van Assche [WC] | H2H: First Meeting
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Dan Evans takes on Facundo Bagnis in his Australian Open opener while Cameron Norrie looks to recover from Auckland final heartbreak against Luca Van Assche.

 

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Dan Evans [25] v Facundo Bagnis| H2H & Match Fundamentals

Dan Evans [25] v Facundo Bagnis H2H: Evans leads 1-0
Australian Open 2023 Melbourne, Australia
Hard (O) Prize Money: : $106,250
First on Court Seven (00:00 GMT) Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime     Sign up for 30 day free trial of Prime Video and a 7 day free trial of Discovery+ Player

Dan Evans hasn’t had the smoothest of starts to the new season having been ill at the Battle of the Brits. Evans then fell to two defeats to Jason Kubler and Frances Tiafoe which was followed by an early exit in Adelaide to Mackenzie McDonald. The 25th seed will be hoping to find his form and confidence in the early rounds in Melbourne as he looks to make the third round at the Australian Open for a second year in a row.

First up for Evans is Facundo Bagnis with British tennis fans remembering him from beating Andy Murray in Australia last year. The Argentinian has a stubborn and resilient baseline game that can frustrate players in hot conditions. However Bagnis’ preferred surface is clay and is yet to get past the first round at the Australian Open in his career and will look to change that this year.

This is the perfect match for Evans to build up confidence especially from the baseline and also the perfect contest for the Brit to try and use aggressive as well as attacking tactics. Bagnis will look to serve well and use his defensive skills to force errors from the 25th seed. This should be a relatively comfortable match for Evans and with it being best of five sets, the Brit should have too much quality to advance into the second round.

Prediction: Evans in straight sets.

 

 

Cameron Norrie [11] v Luca Van Assche | H2H & Match Fundamentals

Cameron Norrie [11] v Luca Van Assche H2H: First Meeting
Australian Open 2023 Melbourne, Australia
Hard (O) Prize Money: : $106,250
Third on Kia Arena (Not before 04:00 GMT) Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime     Sign up for 30 day free trial of Prime Video and a 7 day free trial of Discovery+ Player

Cameron Norrie has started the season in exceptional form, winning six matches including against Rafael Nadal and Taylor Fritz. However the Brit showed his emotional side after losing from 3-0 up in the defeat to Richard Gasquet in the Auckland final. The 11th seed will be hoping that doesn’t mentally affect him too much as he looks to make a deep run in Melbourne.

First up for Norrie is French wildcard Luca Van Assche who has an effective serve and a solid baseline game. The Frenchman has had a good record on the challenger circuit although he prefers to play indoors rather than in natural surfaces. The 18 year-old has very limited experience on the main tour but there’s no doubt that the future looks bright if he continues on this current trajectory.

Norrie will look to use his variety and serving aggression to dictate the points while Van Assche will look to be aggressive and use his pace to dictate the tempo of the match. The Brit should be too consistent and too physical for the Frenchman and this match will provide the perfect opportunity for Norrie to play his way into the tournament.

Prediction: Norrie in straight sets.

 

 

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