Three to See: 2016 Australian Open, Day 1

Before each day of play at the Australian Open, we'll preview and predict three must-see matches. For full coverage of the season's first Slam, go to our tournament page.

In the age of 32 seeds, it’s not often that a match involving a world No. 1 sparks much interest. After all, Serena herself once won 43 straight first-rounders at the majors. But this one should be worth a watch for two reasons. (1) Nobody has seen Serena play since her loss to Roberta Vinci at the U.S. Open last year, and her balky knee has been acting up. How will she look? (2) Once we know that—Serena herself says she’s “130 percent” ready to play—the match itself could be entertaining. Giorgi belts the ball, has wins over Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki, and took Serena to a first-set-tiebreaker the last time they played.

Winner: S. Williams

After Serena’s match on Laver, the men’s No. 1 will come out for his own, potentially intriguing first-round match. Djokovic’s opponent is a 19-year-old South Korean who looks bound for the Top 20, and who many people will be seeing for the first time. Chung is a talented ball-striker whose hipster-nerd glasses give him a unique and unlikely look. But don’t be fooled; last summer, he pushed Stan Wawrinka to three tiebreakers on a brutally hot day at the U.S. Open. While it’s improbable that Chung will make this match as close, he should flash enough youthful skill to get the crowd behind him. And then Nole will win.

Winner: Djokovic

This is the final evening match in Margaret Court Arena, which in the past would have been the only place to put it. Both of these 30-year-old veterans have entertained the late-night general-admission crowds on that court many times. Last year, though, MCA was no longer first-come, first serve, and the atmosphere wasn’t quite the same. Can Tsonga, who always puts on a show, and Baghdatis, who has a raucous Greek following in Melbourne, inject some rowdy life back into the arena? It will depend on whether the 48th-ranked Baghdatis can make some early headway against the 10th-ranked Tsonga. The Frenchman has won their last five meetings.

Winner: Tsonga