Brisbane has always been one of the most exciting pre-Australian Open ATP events and this year has been no exception so far. Heading into the decisive stages of the tournament, Day 5, which will feature the four remaining Round of 16 matches, should provide plenty of exciting action even if no top players will be in action.
ATP Brisbane Day 5 Predictions
Quentin Halys vs Brandon Nakashima
Head-to-head: first meeting
Nakashima has been steadily rising and will be looking to break into the Top 20 in 2026; he will be especially confident after his excellent performance against Alejandro Dadidovich Fokina in the first round here. Halys is not an easy opponent but Nakashima is clearly the better player of the two and should be able to advance here.
Prediction: Nakashima in 2
Rinky Hijikata vs Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
Head-to-head: Mpetshi Perricard 1-0 Hijikata
Mpetshi Perricard had a terrible end of 2025, but he started 2026 on a very good note with a vintage serving display to overcome Tommy Paul in the first round here. With this serve, he’s always a threat to beat anyone on any given day but also at danger of losing, with many matches decided in tiebreaks. This one should be extremely close too, especially given how well Hijikata has been playing.
Prediction: Mpetshi Perricard in 3
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Cameron Norrie vs Aleksandar Kovacevic
Prediction: Kovacevic 1-0 Norrie
Kovacevic had a nice breakthrough season in 2025, reaching two ATP finals and going all the way up to a career high of #58. He can at times play some really good tennis, but when it comes to consistency he doesn’t really hold a candle to Norrie, who is far from his Top 10 days but keeps grinding and getting decent results on tour. On a normal day for both, Norrie will be the one going through here.
Prediction: Norrie in 3
Raphael Collignon vs Grigor Dimitrov
Head-to-head: first meeting
2025 was a very cruel year for Grigor Dimitrov, with his injury when he was close to eliminating Jannik Sinner at Wimbeldon pretty much ending his season and leading to his ranking plummeting all the way to #47. He will be looking to rise back up this year and in the first round against Pablo Carreño Busta he showed that he still has the ability to be a top player if his body cooperates. Collignon will be looking for a brekathrough season in 2026, and judging by the level he showed against Denis Shapovalov he should make this a very interesting match at least.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
