Carlos Alcaraz vs Richard Gasquet
Carlos Alcaraz -3333 / Richard Gasquet +1400 Click Here for the Latest Odds
Second seed Carlos Alcaraz will face French veteran Richard Gasquet in the first round of the 2024 Australian Open. The match will be played on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. Here's our Carlos Alcaraz vs Richard Gasquet Prediction.
Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz enters this year's Australian Open tournament as the number two seed. The Spaniard missed last year's event due to injury and will be looking to make up for lost time for the next two weeks. Alcaraz will play not just for his third Grand Slam title but also for the World No. 1 ranking. The 20-year-old can wrestle top spot from Novak Djokovic, but he'll be wary of the baggage of pressure that weighed heavily on his shoulders last season while chasing for that accolade. Alcaraz will play the Melbourne Slam without his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, in the stands after the former Spanish tennis player underwent knee surgery last month and is currently rehabbing in Spain. Alcaraz has not played any ATP-sanctioned tournaments in the build-up to the Australian Open, but that is unlikely to be a hindrance to his form.
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet was once touted as the next big thing in men's tennis, but that was two decades ago. The French one-hander did justice to that hype early on in his career, managing to rise to a career-high of World No. 7, but didn't quite match up the wealth of talent at his disposal. Gasquet exited the world's Top 100 this week after an unsuccessful title defense at the ASB Classic in Auckland, ending one of the longest streaks of his career of being ranked in the centurion club spanning over 18 years.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Richard Gasquet Prediction
Alcaraz didn't play warm-up tournaments like most of his peers, but that was majorly due to the fact that he had a busy offseason playing exhibition tournaments and had to postpone his vacation to early January. He did, however, get some minutes and mileage under his belt in a pair of charity matches just before the Australian Open, and that sets him up nicely here. And, of course, with the best-of-five-set matches, he can ease his way into contention and refine his game before much sterner tests. Gasquet is unlikely to hurt him, with the Frenchman well past his peak. Back Alcaraz to close this out in straight sets at -250.