7th seed and home favourite Bernard Tomic looks to get his 2016 season off to a good start as he faces the experienced Nicolas Mahut in the final match on the Pat Rafter Arena. This match takes place at around 21:00 Brisbane Time (11:00 UK Time).
Despite off-court troubles, 2015 was a strong season for Bernard Tomic as he rose from outside the top seventy to inside the top twenty in the rankings. Tomic has stated he wants the make the top ten this year and a good start here could boost his opportunity of doing that. He is more powerful and aggressive than Mahut so he could overwhelm the Frenchman, but can get rattled and lose his focus; he needs to concentrate harder if he wants to win this and rise up the rankings.
Mahut may not match the power and aggressiveness of Tomic, but he is much stronger mentally and is arguably more creative than the Australian. The experienced Frenchman could win this match if he is playing at his best, and will also benefit if Tomic loses his focus, though it may be tough for Mahut to try and dictate play in this match up.
This is the first meeting between the pair, which adds some intrigue into this match up. Mahut certainly has experience on his side, but cannot match the power of the Australian. With the home crowd on his side, I would expect Tomic to power his way to a first victory of 2016.
Prediction: Tomic in 2
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