Tennis Betting Tips: Hijikata can triumph in all-Australian affair

The final preparations before the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, continue in Adelaide, Auckland and Hobart and there are plenty of stars on show from both the ATP and WTA Tour on Tuesday.

Ben Shelton, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Emma Raducanu and Marketa Vondrousova are some of the leading lights in action across the four Australian Open warm-up events and they will be keen to showcase their talents in those Trans-Tasman nations.

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Rinky Hijikata -1.5 games on the handicap vs Tristan Schoolkate @ 4/5

This all-Australian first-round clash pits world number 97 Tristan Schoolkate against world number 115 Rinky Hijikata, but it could be the lower-ranked performer that triumphs in Adelaide.

Hijikata made the last 16 in Brisbane last week, reeling off wins over Filip Misolic and compatriot Adam Walton before suffering a deciding-set defeat to big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, and the 24-year-old is capable of rising the rankings in the coming seasons.

Having closed out 2025 with a Challenger title in his homeland, Hijikata has now lost only two of his last 11 matches, whereas confidence levels look low for Schoolkate.

The 24-year-old was beaten 6-3 6-2 by James Duckworth in his Brisbane qualifier earlier this month, which was his fourth straight defeat, and his only previous meeting with Hijikata saw him swatted aside 7-6 6-4.

Marcos Giron to beat Alexandre Muller @ 4/5

These two players locked horns just five days ago in Hong Kong with Marcos Giron proving too hot to handle for Alexandre Muller in a 6-4 7-6 success and the American can frank that form in Auckland.

Giron is 10 places below the Frenchman in the world rankings but his peak performance would be to a higher level, especially with Muller’s best efforts happening to come on clay.

This quicker surface favours Giron and that semi-final run in Hong Kong, where he pushed eventual champion Alexander Bublik to three sets in defeat, should ensure that he is brimming with belief.

Victoria Mboko to beat Anna Kalinskaya @ 10/11

Last season was a breakthrough campaign for Victoria Mboko and the highly-regarded Canadian teenager can power into the Adelaide quarter-final with victory over Anna Kalinskaya.

The 19-year-old is seeded eighth in this tournament down under, having risen up to world number 17 courtesy of last season’s title triumphs at the Canadian Open and the Hong Kong Open.

Big things will be expected of Mboko on the back of that early success and there was a lot to like about her come-from-behind 5-7 6-3 6-2 victory over the experienced Beatriz Haddad Maia in round one.

A repeat performance should see Mboko get the better of Kalinskaya, who trailed the talented Canadian 6-1 3-1 when forced to retire during their Hong Kong quarter-final in October.

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