Preview: Australian Open: Jannik Sinner vs. Eliot Spizzirri - prediction, form

In the first-ever meeting between them, Jannik Sinner will square off with Eliot Spizzirri in round three action at the Australian Open.

The reigning two-time champions took care of Australian James Duckworth in round two, claiming victory in straight sets, 6-1 6-4 6-2, while Spizzirri needed five sets to advance past Wu Yibing 6-2 6-4 6-7 (7-4) 4-6 6-3.

Match preview

It has been smooth sailing for Jannik Sinner early into this competition as he seeks to lift this trophy for a third consecutive occasion.

After winning his opener in a walkover, the Italian needed less than two hours to defeat his second-round opponent, notching 18 aces along the way.

The Italian has never lost a third-round match at this tournament and could make the fourth round for a third straight time.

Sinner has not only been overpowering with his groundstrokes but also has played nearly mistake-free tennis, with only 17 unforced errors against Duckworth.

To this point of the tournament, he has yet to concede a break point, while winning a total of nine combined at this stage of the 2026 event.

On Thursday, he won 86% of his first serves, while winning nine of his 10 net point opportunities in another convincing victory.

A match that appeared destined for a cakewalk ended with Spizzirri barely holding on against his Chinese opponent on Thursday.

The American won the opening two sets of that contest but losing a third-set tiebreaker seemed to rattle the 24-year-old.

Despite conceding 64 winners in the match, Spizzirri came through thanks to his six break points while benefiting from Yibing’s 77 unforced errors.

His next match will be the first time he competes at this stage of the Aussie Open as he seeks to defeat his first top-10 player on tour.

While he got the job done on Thursday, Spizzirri committed 41 unforced errors himself, which is more than Sinner has had in his two matches combined.

Overall, he won 69% of his first serves in round two while only registering four double faults in what wound up being a nervy match filled with mistakes by both players.

Tournament so far

Jannik Sinner:

First round: vs. Hugo Gaston 6-2 6-2

Second round: vs. James Duckworth 6-1 6-4 6-2

Eliot Spizzirri:

First round: vs. Joao Fonseca 6-4 2-6 6-1 6-2

Second round: vs. Wu Yibing 6-2 6-4 6-7 (7-4) 4-6 6-

We say: Sinner to win in three sets

It is still early days but Sinner looks very much like one of the players to beat and his power and overall net presence should be handful for Spizzirri who is not used to competing against a player of this quality.