Preview: Australian Open: Tomas Machac vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas - prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far

Adelaide champion Tomas Machac faces 2023 Australian Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas on Thursday for a place in the third round.

The in-form Czech player defeated Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets, while Tsitsipas needed four to get past Shintaro Mochizuki after dropping the opener against his Japanese opponent.

Match preview

Machac versus Dimitrov was supposed to be tricky on paper, but the world No. 24 dispatched the Bulgarian veteran in straight sets in one hour and 45 minutes, sealing a 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 victory.

In danger of slipping up after the high of claiming the title in Adelaide on the eve of the main draw at Melbourne Park, the 25-year-old instead followed up his thrilling three-set win over Ugo Humbert with a commanding victory over the experienced player.

The recent Adelaide champion saved all four break-point chances the 34-year-old engineered and converted four of the 10 on the nine-time ATP champion's deliveries.

Defeating Dimitrov means that Machac has now avoided a first-round exit at the first Major of the year for the third year running, having advanced to a third match in the past two years since exiting in his tournament opener in 2023.

Now up to 6-1 for the season, only countryman Jiri Lehecka has found a way past the two-time ATP champion, and the No. 24 player seeks to claim a seventh consecutive victory at the expense of the 2023 finalist.

Next up for the in-form Czechia player is Tsitsipas, who has a rich history at Melbourne Park, despite never quite going over the line at the Slam.

A 2023 finalist Down Under, the 27-year-old Greek reached three semi-finals in 2019, 2021 and 2022 before falling to Novak Djokovic in the title match three years ago.

While the past two years have not seen him progress beyond the last 16, he has at least outdone his performance from 12 months ago when Alex Michelsen eliminated him in the opening round.

That tournament-opening defeat in 2025 continued a dismal run at the Majors, where he exited in the second round of Wimbledon and the first round of the US Open in 2024, a pattern that persisted for the rest of last year.

Entering Thursday after exiting early in six consecutive Grand Slams, Tsitsipas — who has a 4-1 win-loss record in 2026 — must defeat an in-form Machac to break a subpar pattern.

Tournament so far

Tomas Machac:

First round: vs. Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-4 6-3

Stefanos Tsitsipas:

First round: vs. Shintaro Mochizuki 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-2

Head To Head

Vienna (2023) - Round of 16: Tsitsipas wins 6-3 4-6 7-5

Ahead of their second meeting on the ATP Tour, Tsitsipas leads Machac 1-0 in their head-to-head.

Their previous matchup, however, came in Vienna, where the Greek star claimed the first and third sets in a three-set triumph over the player two years his junior.

With conditions differing from those in the indoor environment in Austria, their previous tussle may have no bearing on Thursday's outcome.

We say: Machac to win in four sets

It is hard to bet against Machac’s momentum at the moment, with the Czech player on a six-match winning run.

That form should see him overcome the three-time semi-finalist and one-time runner-up in four — some may even suggest it could go to a decider — and advance to the third round, where either Lorenzo Musetti or Lorenzo Sonego awaits.