On the sides of the singles draws that play on Friday, there is plenty of room for a new name to rise to the occasion. In the women’s bottom half of the draw, only six of the sixteen remaining players are seeded, and they combine for a grand total of one major title (Ostapenko). In the men’s second quarter of the draw, they combine for a grand total of one major final (Tsonga). With big opportunities at stake, here’s a look at what figure to be the must-see matchups on Day 5.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Nick Kyrgios
A lot of people are talking about Kyrgios as a contender to make a deep run here. Kyrgios has two major quarterfinals two his name, including one in Australia, but that was three years ago. Tsonga is one of only two players with a higher seeding that stand between Nick and the semifinals, with the other being Grigor Dimitrov. Tsonga is a man Kyrgios idolized as a child. A decade ago, a young Nick attended all of Tsonga’s practice sessions, getting a different tennis ball signed by Jo every day. It was also a decade ago at this tournament that Tsonga reached his only major final. Jo had a poor year in 2017, but fought back to survive a tough five-setter against Denis Shapovalov on Wednesday. Will that have drained the energy out of Tsonga, or will that inspire a higher level of play? Their only previous meeting was last year in Marseille, which was a tight match that Tsonga won 6-4 in the third. With the Aussie crowd solidly behind him, this is a great chance for Kyrgios to take his career to the next level.
Grigor Dimitrov vs. Andrey Rublev
Embed from Getty Images
Much like Tsonga, Dimitrov just barely survived a five-set battle in the second round. The difference is Dimitrov was facing a player ranked 186th in the world. It’s a sign that Grigor is struggling with the weight of expectations that come with his recent rise to number three in the world. He’ll have to play much better against Rublev, who eliminated Dimitrov at the last major. That US Open second round upset was in straight sets. The winner here will play the winner of the Tsonga/Kyrgios match. With no seeded players remaining on the other side of this half of the draw, the winner of that fourth round match will be favored to reach the semifinals. There’s a lot on the line, and I’m curious to see if Grigor can avenge the loss in New York and show he’s ready to live up to his seeding.
Elina Svitolina vs. Marta Kostyuk
Embed from Getty Images
Kostyuk has been one of the biggest stories of the tournament so far. At just 15-years-old, the Ukrainian became the youngest player to win a match at the Australian Open since Martina Hingis. With her win on Wednesday, she became the youngest player in the third round of a major since Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. Hingis and Lucic-Baroini achieved those feats over two decades ago. To say the youngster has impressed would be an understatement. On Friday, she’ll face the Ukrainian number one. Will that intimidate the fifteen-year-old, or will Svitolina feel the pressure of playing a much younger countrywoman? Svitolina has shown in the past she can succumb to nerves at the majors. She’s heavily favored to make her first major semifinal in a section of the draw where she’s the only seed remaining. That’s a lot of pressure, so this could be interesting.
Jelena Ostapenko vs. Anett Kontaveit
Embed from Getty Images
Here we have two young players with big aspirations. Ostapenko has already realized much of her potential with her Roland Garros title last year. Kontaveit is yet to make such a breakthrough, but she has quietly established herself on the tour and is a seeded player here. Like Ostapenko, she also won her first career title in 2017, on the grass of ‘S-Hertogenbosch. The only time these two met was also in grass. While Kontaveit prevailed, that was three years ago and on a different surface so I’m not sure that reveals very much. Ostapenko was pushed in her last round by an unseeded opponent: she’ll likely need to find better form to win on Friday. Is she ready to become a consistent contender at the majors?
Rafael Nadal vs. Damir Dzumhur
Embed from Getty Images
Damir Dzumhir is undefeated against Rafael Nadal. You can’t that say about many players, though it’s a bit misleading. They’ve only played once, in 2016 in Miami, and in a match where Nadal retired midway through the third set. While Dzumhur is the first seeded player Rafa will face at this Australian Open, he shouldn’t cause Nadal too much trouble. The number one seed has looked very strong through his first two rounds. Let’s see if Nadal can continue to build momentum as he looks to win his second title at the only major he’s only won once.
Related articles
Australian Open 2018 schedule for Day 5
(All times UK GMT)
Rod Laver Arena – midnight
KUMKHUM, Luksika (THA) vs MARTIC, Petra (CRO)
KOSTYUK, Marta (UKR) vs SVITOLINA, Elina (UKR) [4]
Not before 3.30am
DIMITROV, Grigor (BUL) [3] vs RUBLEV, Andrey (RUS) [30]
8am
KYRGIOS, Nick (AUS) [17] vs TSONGA, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) [15]
BERTENS, Kiki (NED) [30] vs WOZNIACKI, Caroline (DEN) [2]
Margaret Court Arena – midnight
ALLERTOVA, Denisa (CZE) vs LINETTE, Magda (POL)
CARRENO BUSTA, Pablo (ESP) [10] vs MULLER, Gilles (LUX) [23]
8am
NADAL, Rafael (ESP) [1] vs DZUMHUR, Damir (BIH) [28]
OSTAPENKO, Jelena (LAT) [7] vs KONTAVEIT, Anett (EST) [32]
Hisense Arena – midnight
BRYAN, Bob (USA) / BRYAN, Mike (USA) [6] vs MIRNYI, Max (BLR) / OSWALD, Philipp (AUT)
MERTENS, Elise (BEL) vs CORNET, Alize (FRA)
SEPPI, Andreas (ITA) vs KARLOVIC, Ivo (CRO)
Not before 5am
HARRISON, Ryan (USA) vs CILIC, Marin (CRO) [6]
Show Court 2 – midnight
EDMUND, Kyle (GBR) vs BASILASHVILI, Nikoloz (GEO)
SAFAROVA, Lucie (CZE) / STRYCOVA, Barbora (CZE) [4] vs OLARU, Raluca (ROU) / SAVCHUK, Olga (UKR)
ALBOT, Radu (MDA) / CHUNG, Hyeon (KOR) vs KONTINEN, Henri (FIN) / PEERS, John (AUS) [2]
KANEPI, Kaia (EST) vs SUÁREZ NAVARRO, Carla (ESP)
Show Court 3 – midnight
MOORE, Jessica (AUS) / PEREZ, Ellen (AUS) vs BEGU, Irina-Camelia (ROU) / NICULESCU, Monica (ROU) [10]
CHAN, Latisha (TPE) / SESTINI HLAVACKOVA, Andrea (CZE) [1] vs KALASHNIKOVA, Oksana (GEO) / LEPCHENKO, Varvara (USA)
STOSUR, Samantha (AUS) / GROTH, Sam (AUS) vs HON, Priscilla (AUS) / REID, Matt (AUS)
SCHWARTZMAN, Diego (ARG) [24] vs DOLGOPOLOV, Alexandr (UKR)
