Australian Open Day 3 Preview: Five Must-See Matches

On Day 1 at the Australian Open, 11 of the 64 seeded singles players were eliminated. And with several of the game’s biggest names on the sidelines, there is plenty of room for new names to rise to prominence in the halves of the draws that play on Day 3. The following matches feature many of those players that are looking for their major breakthrough.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Denis Shapovalov

This is a rematch from the last Grand Slam event, in which Shapovalov upset Tsonga in straight sets in the US Open second round. That put an end to an extremely disappointing 2017 for Jo at the majors, where he went just 7-4. Shapovalov arrived in Melbourne with much less momentum than he did in New York, but easily won his opening round. Tsonga also won in straight sets on Monday, and is coming off France’s Davis Cup victory in November. Will Jo find be inspired by his team winning the cup, or have his confidence further shaken since he was defeated by David Goffin in that David Cup tie? This should be an interesting match to watch unfold between two explosive shot-makers.

Elina Svitolina vs. Katerina Siniakova

Svitolina is one of the top betting favorites in Melbourne. After winning five titles in 2017, she already started 2018 with another in Brisbane. Her run to the title there included victories over top 10 players Johanna Konta and Karolina Pliskova. But is Svitolina worthy is being considered a favorite to win this major? She’s yet to advance passed the quarterfinals at a major, and never been farther than the third round at the Australian. Her opponent on Wednesday won her first two singles titles last year, in Shenzhen and Bastad. Just two weeks ago at this year’s Shenzhen tournament, she defeated Maria Sharapova in the semifinal before losing in the final to world number one Simona Halep. Siniakova was visibly emotional after her semifinal victory, as she considers Sharapova her idol. The WTA website also notes the Australian Open is her favorite tournament. The 21-year-old is a dangerous opponent for Svitolina in what will be their first career meeting.

Kyle Edmund vs. Denis Istomin

Edmund is coming off one of the biggest victories of his career, as he outlasted US Open finalist Kevin Anderson in a four-hour five setter. Of course Istomin had the biggest win of his career as last year’s Australian Open, when he shocked the tennis world by ousting Novak Djokovic. With all four seeds in this quarter of the draw losing on Monday (Anderson, Jack Sock, Lucas Pouille, and Philipp Kohlschreiber), it’s a big opportunity for a new name to flourish. In Andy Murray’s absence, can Kyle Edmund step up as Britain’s top male player?

Monica Puig vs. Kaia Kanepi

Following her shocking gold medal performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Puig has failed to live up to expectations thereafter. Monica recently told Australia’s PlayersVoice that her gold medal at times felt like a “curse.” Could her opening round have been a sign she’s ready to change that? Puig saved a match point during her comeback win on Monday against Samantha Stosur, though Stosur has a habit of folding under the pressure of her home Slam. At the last major, Kaia Kanepi started the US Open ranked outside the top 400. But she won three rounds of qualifying and four main draw matches to advance to her sixth career major quarterfinal. The Australian Open is actually the only major where the Estonian has not been passed the third round. Kanepi upset former Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova on Monday. This is another case where the draw has opened up for both players, with the other seed in this section, CoCo Vandeweghe, also going out in the first round. Kanepi is the more in-form player, but players who escape near-defeat are often tough outs in the next round.

Nick Kyrgios vs. Viktor Troicki

Is Kyrgios ready to realize his potential and become a serious contender at his home major? He’s off to a good start, as he dropped just seven games in a dominant victory on Monday. He’s also been talking a good game, as he recently told the press, “I kind of want to keep it even-keeled throughout the whole year rather than being such a rollercoaster ride.” It’s the emotional ups and downs, the lack of conditioning, and the self-admitted tanking of matches that has held Kyrgios back from becoming a top player. The veteran Troicki is a tough competitor. He came from two sets down to win his opening round match, but that also must have taken something out of him. In their only previous meeting, Troicki won just three games in Montreal last summer. This should be a straightforward match for Nick, but straightforward and Kyrgios don’t often go together.

Order of Play on Day 3:

Rod Laver Arena – Midnight start GMT (All court times GMT)

SINIAKOVA, Katerina (CZE) vs SVITOLINA, Elina (UKR) [4]

FETT, Jana (CRO) vs WOZNIACKI, Caroline (DEN) [2]

NADAL, Rafael (ESP) [1] vs MAYER, Leonardo (ARG)

DIMITROV, Grigor (BUL) [3] vs MCDONALD, Mackenzie (USA)

GAVRILOVA, Daria (AUS) [23] vs MERTENS, Elise (BEL)

Margaret Court Arena – Midnight start

KOSTYUK, Marta (UKR) vs ROGOWSKA, Olivia (AUS)

SHAPOVALOV, Denis (CAN) vs TSONGA, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) [15]

OSTAPENKO, Jelena (LAT) [7] vs DUAN, Ying-Ying (CHN)

CORNET, Alize (FRA) vs GOERGES, Julia (GER) [12]

DOLGOPOLOV, Alexandr (UKR) vs EBDEN, Matthew (AUS)

Hisense Arena – Midnight start

PAVLYUCHENKOVA, Anastasia (RUS) [15] vs BONDARENKO, Kateryna (UKR)

BENCIC, Belinda (SUI) vs KUMKHUM, Luksika (THA)

SOUSA, Joao (POR) vs CILIC, Marin (CRO) [6]

KYRGIOS, Nick (AUS) [17] vs TROICKI, Viktor (SRB)

Show Court 2 – Midnight start

JAZIRI, Malek (TUN) vs MULLER, Gilles (LUX) [23]

LINETTE, Magda (POL) vs KASATKINA, Daria (RUS) [22]

BERTENS, Kiki (NED) [30] vs GIBBS, Nicole (USA)

BAGHDATIS, Marcos (CYP) vs RUBLEV, Andrey (RUS) [30]