Australian Open: Andy Murray vs. Nikoloz Basilashvili 1/18/22 Tennis Prediction

Nikoloz Basilashvili faces Andy Murray in the first round of the 2022 Australian Open on Tuesday, January 18th 2022.

Will Nikoloz Basilashvili get revenge for his tight loss to Andy just last week in Sydney, or will Andy bounce back after a tough final loss in Sydney to the hands of Karatsev?

Nikoloz Basilashvili will be both happy and determined coming into the AO, looking ahead knowing that he has a tough draw right from the start. Basilashvili met Andy Murray just last week in Sydney where he took the Brit to a tight 3rd set after having been down a break in both the first and second set. Nikoloz is either a hit or miss player, one day being amazing, and the next not even showing up in the rallies. It will be interesting to see if he is able to come out ready for revenge here.

Andy Murray can be very happy with his tennis at the moment, having made his second final since 2019, reaching the Sydney Open final. Although Murray lost in straight sets to Aslan Karatsev, he can be proud with how he is improving. Andy knows how much this years Australian Open means to him, marking 3 years since he announced his retirement here in Australia, to now being back and a potential upset maker in these early rounds.

This is going to be the 3rd meeting between both players, and this is definitely going to be a tight one. Last week Andy should have really won that match in straight sets, having served for both the first and second set. However, when it was needed, Nikoloz found an extra level in his game to keep himself in the match. Andy had to step up his level and when he did, he finally got the win under his belt. Both players have a lot to learn from last weeks encounter, and they will surely have each others number coming here. However, I think at a grand slam, Andy has the advantage over 5 sets.