August Holmgren vs. Chris O’Connell tennis match, Digi Mart USA News (Brisbane, Australia): August Holmgren is the underdog when he meets Australian Chris O’Connell at the River City Challenger in Brisbane. O’Connell is the tournament’s second seed and ranks No. 117 in the world, while Holmgren is ranked No. 265.
The match is scheduled to begin at 5:30 on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, and can be watched live on bet365. In his opening round in Brisbane, Holmgren beat Australian Sekulic in three sets, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, after only three breaks of serve in the match.
Two of those breaks came from Holmgren, which was enough for the win.
The victory eased a difficult run of form, as Holmgren had lost four of his previous five matches before arriving in Brisbane. He has now won two of his last three matches, which should provide a confidence boost ahead of the O’Connell match.
O’Connell, who has previously been ranked No. 53 in the world, is 32 years old and in the later stage of his career. He has had two strong tournaments in 2026, but has lost 12 of his other 14 main-draw matches.
His best result this year came in June at the Nottingham Challenger on grass, where he reached the final and won the title by beating Finland’s Virtanen 7-6, 7-6.
In August, O’Connell reached the fourth round of a Masters event in Cincinnati, only the second time in his career he had reached that stage of a Masters. He came through qualifying and beat Poland’s Majchrzak in the first round, and in the second round he was leading Casper Ruud 7-5, 2-1 when the Norwegian retired.
In the third round, Joao Fonseca also withdrew, sending O’Connell to the fourth round, where he lost 6-4, 6-3 to Taylor Fritz.
Since then, O’Connell has played only three qualifying matches for the US Open. In Brisbane, he won his opening round against fellow Australian Moerani Bouzige, who is ranked No. 480 in the world, winning 6-4, 6-1.
O’Connell is the favorite in this matchup.
Holmgren knows his strengths and tries to keep most matches on terms that suit his best skills. Against Sekulic he lost only one service game on his way to a three-set win, and he will need something similar against O’Connell.
O’Connell prefers to control play with his powerful forehand, and his one-handed backhand is attractive to watch but less effective.
The preview suggests Holmgren could target that backhand side. The author expects the match to be more competitive than the odds suggest and says it could go to three sets again, as both players did in the first round.
Odds were accurate at the time of publication and may change. The match can be streamed live on bet365, subject to geo-restrictions and the terms of the platform.
