The second round is set for some brilliant encounters at Melbourne Park as stars of the game go head-to-head for a place in the last 32 at Australian Open 2025.
After last Thursday’s draw ceremony threw up several popcorn matches in round one, the second round at Australian Open 2025 is delivering, too.
We preview five blockbuster match-ups that promise to electrify crowds across Melbourne Park over the next two days and nights.
Naomi Osaka v [20] Karolina Muchova
Does Naomi Osaka’s revenge tour continue?
In round one, she avenged her loss to Caroline Garcia in the first round here last year, winning their AO 2025 rematch in three compelling sets.
That win set up a second-round showdown with Karolina Muchova – whom she lost to at the same stage of the US Open four months ago.
MORE: AO 2025 women's singles draw
Muchova was imperious in her first-round victory over Nadia Podoroska, dismissing the Argentine in 61 minutes and losing just two games.
Muchova leads the head-to-head against Osaka, and in their history of meetings dating back to 2020, it’s always been a tight tussle.
Let’s hope for another barnstormer when they clash at Kia Arena on Wednesday.
Matteo Berrettini v [13] Holger Rune
These are two players who have been ranked far higher – Holger Rune at No.4, Matteo Berrettini at No.6 – but regardless of where they’re ranked, both are dangerous Grand Slam prospects.
Berrettini, the 2021 Wimbledon finalist, has battled numerous injuries since that career zenith, but when healthy in 2024 he still managed to nab three ATP titles. Since July he’s risen from outside the top 80 to world No.34, winning 21 of his past 29 matches and entering AO 2025 as one of the highest-ranked unseeded players.
MORE: AO 2025 men's singles draw
The Italian star stopped another former top-10 player, Cameron Norrie, in the first round to get to this point, but it’s been 18 months since he’s gone beyond that at a Slam.
It will be tough to end that drought against Rune, who has won three of their four meetings. The Dane, seven years younger, survived a five-set fright against Zhang Zhizhen and could play with a renewed freedom.
And he’ll be keen to restore his ranking to its former heights, after slipping outside the top 10 in April 2024.
[6] Casper Ruud v Jakub Mensik
This looms as a dangerous assignment for Casper Ruud, who was pushed to five sets in the opening round by world No.62 Jaume Munar.
Now he faces ascendant top-50 star Jakub Mensik, the Czech teen who is considered one of the game’s brightest prospects.
In late 2024, Mensik reached quarterfinals at the Shanghai Masters and in Vienna. And he opened 2025 the same way, with back-to-back quarterfinals in Brisbane and Auckland.
He’s in form, and after a four-set win over Nikoloz Basilashvili he’ll be confident against Ruud, a player best suited to clay.
But don’t forget – Ruud is a three-time major finalist who played some brilliant tennis on the hard courts at the United Cup.
So far, he is undefeated this season.
Amanda Anisimova v Emma Raducanu
There are so several between Amanda Anisimova and Emma Raducanu, two young WTA stars who have scaled some of the highest heights, but also had their momentum frequently stalled.
Anisimova, a year older at 23, burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old phenom by reaching the Roland Garros semifinals in 2019. Since then she has endured personal tragedy, and last year took a break from the game last due to burnout.
Anisimova, an incredibly pure ball-striker, has risen swiftly since her return, and was one of the biggest rankings movers in 2024. So too was Raducanu, who returned with gusto after wrist and ankle surgeries in 2023 to re-establish herself in the top 100.
The 2021 US Open champion progressed to the fourth round at Wimbledon, while this week she upset 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in two tiebreaks to set up the meeting with Anisimova, who breezed past María Lourdes Carle in round one.
This will be their first meeting.
[12] Tommy Paul v Kei Nishikori
Both Tommy Paul and Kei Nishikori came through five-set thrillers to set up this exciting second-round clash, yet couldn’t be at more different points in their respective careers.
Nishikori, competing at his first AO since 2021, won his first match at Melbourne Park since 2019, surviving match points to eventually see off Thiago Monteiro.
It was a continuation of the form which saw him win a Challenger late in 2024 to return to the top 100, and the recent ATP final in Hong Kong.
But at 35, he’s almost 10 years older than Paul, whose five-set win over Chris O’Connell in round one saw him rise to world No.9 in the ATP live rankings.
The all-court American, who reached the semifinals at AO 2023, is consistently producing excellent results and should be favoured to beat the Japanese veteran, depending on how a shoulder niggle in his first round-match responds to a day off.
But Nishikori continues to defy expectations after countless injuries and so deep into an illustrious career.