With temperatures in Melbourne forecasted to become extremely hot over the next few days, players will be tested physically. It will become more vital for any true title contenders to avoid prolonged early round matches. Let’s take a look at what may be some of the more competitive matches on Thursday’s schedule.
Novak Djokovic vs. Gael Monfils
Here’s a rematch from one of the more bizarre major semifinals in recent memory. At the 2016 US Open, Monfils appeared to clearly start tanking midway through the match. Bizarrely, it distracted Djokovic to the point where Monfils’ apparent lessened effort won him a set before losing in four. Considering Gael is 0-14 lifetime against Novak, it’s natural to feel a bit defeated, but tanking in a Grand Slam semifinal is quite something. While Djokovic looked good on Tuesday and easily won his first match in six months, he was not tested at all by Donald Young. Monfils underperformed in 2017, to the point where he’s not even seeded here, so he’s far from playing his best. I wouldn’t put any money on Monfils, but this could be a stern test for the returning Djokovic if Gael gives maximum effort.
Maria Sharapova vs. Anastasija Sevastova
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Speaking of US Open rematches, Sevastova ended Sharapova’s run at last year’s event in New York in the fourth round. Just a few weeks later in Beijing, Sharapova got revenge when she prevailed in a third set tiebreak. Both matches were extremely competitive, as Sevastova’s defense and variety of shot can disrupt Sharapova’s flat and hard groundstrokes. Sevastova’s best results at the majors have come on hard courts, as she’s now a two-time US Open quarterfinalist. She’ll present Sharapova with a strong challenge, but I expect Maria to have learned from her recent battles with Anastasija and to advance to the third round.
Angelique Kerber vs. Donna Vekic
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And speaking of the third round, the Sharapova/Sevastova winner will play the winner of this match. Has Angelique Kerber rediscovered her form to the point where she can challenge for this title? She’s been talking about forgetting her dismal 2017 season ever happened, and just won the title last week in Sydney. Donna Vekic is a 21-year-old Croatian who has been looking for a breakout win. She was extremely close to achieving that at Wimbledon last summer, as Vekic lost an outstanding match against Johanna Konta which went to 10-8 in the third set. Kerber won her only previous meeting against Vekic, which was also last summer, but both sets they played were tight. This match could be a good indication of how seriously we should consider Kerber’s title chances.
Hyeon Chung vs. Danil Medvedev
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Here’s another ATP Next Gen face-off at this year’s Australian Open. Chung was the winner of the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals. He went 5-0 in that round robin tournament, and defeated Medvedev in the semifinals. Two months later though, Medvedev is the more in-form player. The Russian won the first title of his career last week in Sydney, and on Tuesday took out one of Australia’s most promising young players, Thanasi Kokkikakis. This will be a much different setting than the indoor Next Gen finals in Milan, where experimental rules like first to four games and no-ad scoring were implemented. The winner may get the best of all Next Gen players in the next round: Alexander Zverev.
Ashleigh Barty vs. Camila Giorgi
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Ashleigh Barty has made an astounding rise up the rankings over the past 12 months. A year ago, Barty arrived in Melbourne ranked outside the top 200, having left the tennis world for a few years to play professional cricket. Now at a career-high ranking of 17, she’s Australia’s number one female player. Ashleigh won her first career title in 2017, but is yet to advance farther than the third round at a major. In an open section of the draw, that may change very soon. However, Camila Giorgi can be a tough out. Giorgi came through three rounds of qualifying last week in Sydney, and went on to defeat Sloane Stephens, Petra Kvitova, and Agnieszka Radwanska. Camila has eight career wins against top 10 players, so she can go. But with the Aussie crowd behind her, I expect Barty to embrace their support and prevail.
Selected order of play (singles matches only)
ROD LAVER ARENA
Maria Sharapova (Russia) v 14-Anastasija Sevastova (Latvia)
3-Garbine Muguruza (Spain) v Hsieh Su-wei (Taiwan)
14-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) v Gael Monfils (France)
Not before 08:00 (GMT)
18-Ashleigh Barty (Australia) v Camila Giorgi (Italy)
2-Roger Federer (Switzerland) v Jan-Lennard Struff (Germany)
MARGARET COURT ARENA
5-Dominic Thiem (Austria) v Denis Kudla (U.S.)
21-Angelique Kerber (Germany) v Donna Vekic (Croatia)
Ekaterina Alexandrova (Russia) v 17-Madison Keys (U.S.)
Not before 08:00 (GMT)
1-Simona Halep (Romania) v Eugenie Bouchard (Canada)
9-Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) v Tennys Sandgren (U.S.)
HISENSE ARENA
8-Caroline Garcia (France) v Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic)
Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil) v Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic)
Karen Khachanov (Russia) v 12-Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina)
Peter Gojowczyk (Germany) v 4-Alexander Zverev (Germany)
COURT TWO
9-Johanna Konta (Gbr) v Bernarda Pera (USA)
19-Tomas Berdych (Cze) v Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spa)
7-David Goffin (Bel) v Julien Benneteau (Fra)
COURT THREE
13-Sam Querrey (USA) v Marton Fucsovics (Hun)
29-Lucie Safarova (Cze) v Sorana Cirstea (Rom)
29-Richard Gasquet (Fra) v Lorenzo Sonego (Ita)
COURT SEVEN
Tim Smyczek (US) v 21-Albert Ramos-Vinolas (Spain)
28-Mirjana Lucic-Baroni v Aliaksandra Sasnovich (Belarus)
Evgeny Donskoy v 25-Fabio Fognini (Italy)
Naomi Osaka v 16-Elena Vesnina (Russia)
COURT EIGHT
Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) v 26-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland)
Ana Bogdan (Romania) v Yania Putintseva (Russia)
Hyeon Chung (South Korea) v Daniil Medvedev (Russia)
Fernando Verdasco (Spain) v Maximilian Marterer (Germany)
COURT THIRTEEN
Nicolas Kicker (Argentina) v Lukas Lacko (Slovakia)
Jiri Vesely (Czech Republic) v 26-Adrian Mannarino (France)
COURT FOURTEEN
Lara Arruabarrena (Spain) v 20-Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic)
Lauren Davis (USA) v Andrea Petkovic (Germany)
