Kyrgios played in the tournament’s most exciting match thus far, savings match points in a five-set comeback win over Ugo Humbert on Wednesday.
Friday is the day when seeded players begin to collide in the draw, making for some big-time matchups. Two men’s encounters will see a battle of top 20 seeds, including one between two young Canadians who are close friends. Also, the two most recent women’s Major champions, Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek, face two of the WTA’s breakout performers of 2020. And with 40 Major singles titles between them, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic with play their third round matches on Friday.
Each day during this fortnight, this preview will analyze the day’s most prominent matches, and note the other intriguing matchups on the schedule. Friday’s play will begin at 11:00am local time.
Dominic Thiem (3) vs. Nick Kyrgios – Not Before 7:00pm on JCA
Nick’s epic win on Wednesday was certainly mentally and emotionally draining, though it was less than three-and-a-half-hours, which is relatively short by five-set standards. But he’s only played five matches since last February, and has been bothered by a leg injury since last week’s tune-up event, so he’ll certainly be less than 100% physically. Thiem is one of the fittest men in the sport, and should be fully fresh as he’s yet to drop a set this week. They’ve only played seven games previously, with Kyrgios retiring down 4-3 in the first set six years ago in Nice on clay. If Nick can serve big and keep this match less physical, he has a real shot. The faster courts this year at Melbourne Park should favor Kyrgios, as his groundstroke swings take less time to set up than Thiem’s. But the reigning US Open champion has become one of the best hard court players in the world, and should be able to get past a depleted Kyrgios.
Naomi Osaka (3) vs. Ons Jabeur (27) – Not Before 1:30pm on JCA
In her press conference after her win on Wednesday, Osaka spoke of how much she likes Jabeur and respects her game. It was a year ago at this tournament when Jabeur broke through to become the first Arab woman to reach a Major quarterfinal. The 26-year-old from Tunisia has plenty of variety in her game, which she’ll utilize to subdue the power of Osaka. Jabeur successfully did that against a power player at the last Slam, upsetting Aryna Sabalenka in three sets at the French Open. This will be the first career meeting between Osaka and Jabeur. The three-time Major champion has looked extremely sharp through two rounds, dropping just eight games thus far against two tough draws in Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Caroline Garcia. Naomi should be favored to overcome another challenging opponent today.
Denis Shapovalov (11) vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime (20) – Not Before 7:00pm on MCA
Having a second screen available for this match is a good idea, as it’s scheduled to start at the same time as the Thiem/Kyrgios encounter. 21-year-old Shapovalov and 20-year-old Auger-Aliassime had a lot of expectations placed upon them from a young age. Thus far Denis has achieved more success, reaching the quarterfinals of the US Open and the final of the Rome Masters. Felix has only advanced beyond this round of a Major once, and is an alarming 0-7 in ATP finals, and 0-14 in sets. Shapovalov leads their head-to-head 2-1, with victories in back-to-back years at the US Open. Auger-Aliassime’s only victory came on clay. With more experience at big events, and seemingly possessing a mental edge over his good friend, Shapovalov is the favorite to advance.
Pablo Carreno Busta (15) vs. Grigor Dimitrov (18) – Third on MCA
Here’s another clash between top 20 seeds, with a two-time Slam semifinalist and a three-time semifinalist. They have split six previous meetings, though notably Dimitrov has easily won both of their matches on hard courts. They haven’t played in nearly three years. Grigor has not dropped a set through two rounds, which includes a win over former finalist Marin Cilic. Pablo has dropped one set, though he ousted Kei Nishikori in straights on Monday. This could easily become an extended affair, but I give the slight edge to Dimitrov. He has dominated their previous meetings on this surface, and these fast courts should reward his more offensive-minded game.
Iga Swiatek (15) vs. Fiona Ferro – Last on MCA
19-year-old Swiatek has now won her last nine matches at a Major, and has done so without losing a single set. She’s never before played Ferro, a 23-year-old from France who won a clay court title in Palermo last summer, and then reached the round of 16 at her country’s Slam. Fiona impressively upset Elena Rybakina two days ago. While she has the tools to test the Roland Garros champion today, Ferro owns a losing record in her career on this surface. And her skills are a bit overshadowed by the all-around game of Swiatek. I like Iga’s chances to reach the fourth round in Melbourne for the second straight year.
Other Notable Matches on Day 5:
Seven-time champion Serena Williams (10) vs. Anastasia Potapova, a 19-year-old Russian ranked 101st in the world. They played at this same event a year ago, with Serena allowing Potapova just three games.
Eight-time champion Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Taylor Fritz (27). This is the second consecutive American opponent for Djokovic, who was pushed by Frances Tiafoe on Wednesday. Novak is 2-0 against Fritz, dropping only nine games in the four sets they’ve played.
Two-time Major champion Simona Halep (2) vs. Veronika Kudermetova (32), a 23-year-old Russian who reached the final of Abu Dhabi last month.
Two-time Major champion Garbine Muguruza (14) vs. Zarina Diyas, a 27-year-old from Kazakhstan. Their only previous meeting was last year in Shenzhen, with Muguruza prevailing in a tight three-setter.
Sascha Zverev (6) vs. Adrian Mannarino (32). They’ve played three hard court matches over the last six months. All of them were close, but all were won by Zverev.
Aryna Sabalenka (7) vs. Ann Li. Sabalenka has claimed 17 of her last 18 matches, though 20-year-old Li has won 12 of her last 13 at all levels, and is 6-0 this month in Melbourne.
In a women’s doubles match featuring four top 25 singles players, Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka (2) vs. Ash Barty and Jennifer Brady.
Friday’s full order of play is here.
