Andrey Rublev vs Joao Fonseca Prediction Australian Open Tennis Picks 1/14/25

Andrey Rublev and Joao Fonseca meet in the second round of the 2025 Australian Open on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. Here’s our Andrey Rublev vs Joao Fonseca prediction. This preview also includes an Andrey Rublev vs Joao Fonseca pick.

Andrey Rublev Preview

Andrey Rublev played in one warm-up tournament before the 2025 Australian Open. The World No. 9 was the top seed in Hong Kong but lost his opening match to Fabian Marozsan in three sets.

Rublev has quarterfinal points to defend in Melbourne and an early loss could throw him out of the world’s top 10.

He has made the last eight of a Grand Slam 10 times in his career without breaking that barrier (three being at the Australian Open).

This will be the Russian’s ninth appearance at the Australian Open and has only lost in the first round of this tournament once in his career.

Rublev won 27 matches and lost 13 on outdoor hard courts this past year, winning the ATP 250 in Hong Kong and the Masters 1000 in Madrid.

Rublev is currently on a four-match losing streak at Tour level.

Joao Fonseca Preview

The noise is that Joao Fonseca might be the heir apparent to Gustavo Kuerten, who is the most decorated Brazilian tennis player.

Still only 18, and ranked at a career-high No. 112, Fonseca is near certain to make his top 100 debut later this year, and he might not have to wait long if he can go deep on his maiden Grand Slam main draw.

The precocious talent from Rio de Janeiro is undefeated in his last 13 matches, a streak that includes the title win at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Riyadh in December, and three qualifying wins at the Australian Open.

He was also champion at the Canberra Challenger in the opening week of January.

Andrey Rublev vs Joao Fonseca Head-To-Head

• Rublev and Fonseca have never met on the ATP Tour. This will be their first meeting.

Andrey Rublev vs Joao Fonseca Prediction

This is the toughest first round imaginable for a seeded player. The pre-match odds sum up this observation. Joao Fonseca has never played in the main draw of a Grand Slam before, but he is only a +120 underdog against an accomplished World No. 9 with three Australian Open quarterfinals to his name. It’s still a match I expect Rublev to win, but that is not bankable at all.

Fonseca has some serious momentum coming to Melbourne with 13 straight wins including three in qualifying for the tournament. He also beat two Top 50 players to win the Next Gen title at the back end of last year. The forehand-to-forehand exchanges will be very intriguing here, but Fonseca’s willingness to hit that down-the-line shot time and time again could be problematic for Rublev. Like I said, Rublev should be winning this match given his pedigree and experience, but he’s been unconvincing to start the year and has drawn the most talented teenager on the planet right now. I’ll tip the upset.