The field on both the men’s and women’s sides at the Australian Open will be down to 32 when players take the court on Friday. Action is really heating up in the 3rd round, as seeds start to go head-to-head. That includes a showdown between Alex de Minaur and Frances Tiafoe. The order of play also features Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka. Let’s take a look at my Australian Open best bets on the Day 6 schedule at Melbourne Park.
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Australian Open best bet: Jasmine Paolini ML over Iva Jovic (-137)
This is an ideal spot for Jasmine Paolini. First of all, fatigue has to be a factor for Iva Jovic at some point. The 18-year-old American has already played an absurd 11 matches in 2025 (including the final in Hobart this past Saturday). Moreover, Paolini already leads the head-to-head series 2-0. The Italian beat Jovic in 3 sets last spring in Indian Wells and 6-3, 6-3 at the 2025 US Open. Now they are squaring off at another major — a stage on which Paolini thrives. She is a Roland Garros and Wimbledon runner-up (both in 2024). The world #8 should be a bigger favorite on Friday.
Australian Open prediction: Andrey Rublev ML over Francisco Cerundolo (-140)
Not too much unlike Paolini vs Jovic, the most important aspect of this matchup is that this is a major we are talking about. Andrey Rublev is lightyears ahead of Francisco Cerundolo at the Grand Slam level. The Russian has reached 10 major quarterfinals. Cerundolo has never advanced past the 4th round of any slam and he has never even reached the 4th round outside of Roland Garros. Rublev may not be in peak form these days, but he showed signs of his former self with convincing wins in the first 2 rounds this fortnight. Although Cerundolo leads the H2H 3-1, 2 of his wins over Rublev have come on clay and none on an outdoor hard court or at a slam.
Australian Open parlay: Alexander Bublik ML over Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Learner Tien ML over Nuno Borges (-104)
Alexander Bublik is simply playing lights out right now. The Kazakh is into the top 10 for the first time in his career and it is well deserved. He was awesome in 2025 and is showing no signs of slowing down in 2026, with a 6-0 record so far in January with a title in Hong Kong. Bublik has not dropped a set through 2 rounds Down Under. He beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry on clay last year – and that’s a surface that favors the Argentine. A relatively fast hard court certainly favors Bublik.
Meanwhile, a matchup with Learner Tien is not good for Nuno Borges. They are both defensive counter-punchers, but Tien brings a lot more variety to the table. The American won their only previous encounter in straight sets at the 2025 Paris Masters and we could see something similar here.
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