With all six tournaments now underway simultaneously at Melbourne Park, the order of play is overflowing with great matchups.
In Wednesday’s ATP Cup matches, the next generation takes center stage, with six top 12 players under the age of 25. In the day’s WTA 500 matches, 10 of the world’s top 15 players will be in action. And in the ATP 250 events, the top eight seeds in both singles draws play their opening matches.
This preview will narrow down the scheduled 89 matches to the most prominent ones to watch throughout the day.
Wednesday’s ATP Cup matches will be played on Rod Laver Arena and John Cain Arena starting at 10:00am local time. The WTA 500 and ATP 250 events will begin at 10:30am on the outer courts, and at 11:00am on Margaret Court Arena, 1573 Arena, and Court 3.
The ATP Cup, a Round Robin Team Event between 12 Nations
Top Players: All of the ATP top 10 will compete except the injured Roger Federer.
Sascha Zverev (GER) vs. Denis Shapovalov (CAN) – Second Match on RLA
They’ve split four previous meetings, with Shapovalov taking the last two. That includes a decisive 6-2, 6-2 victory last year at this event. Shapovalov played well yesterday despite losing two tight sets to Novak Djokovic. This is Zverev’s first match since going 1-2 at the ATP Finals. Milos Raonic will be a favorite in the tie’s other singles match against Jan-Lennard Struff.
Matteo Berrettini (ITA) vs. Gael Monfils (FRA) – Second Match on JCA
They’re only previous meeting was an epic, when Berrettini outlasted Monfils in a fifth set tiebreak in the 2019 US Open quarterfinals. Matteo was stellar yesterday, winning both singles and doubles in straight sets. Gael is 0-4 since the tour restart last summer. And who knows what could happen during the other Italy/France singles match, featuring Fabio Fognini and Benoit Paire.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs. Alex de Minaur (AUS) – Not Before 7:00pm on RLA
De Minaur is coming off a title run in Antalya to start the year, but suffered a tough loss yesterday at the hands of Roberto Bautista Agut, in a match that lasted nearly two-and-a-half-hours. And Alex is 0-3 versus Tsitsipas, who is playing his first match since going 1-2 at the ATP Finals. In the other singles match, John Millman should easily prevail against Michail Pervolarakis, who is ranked 462nd in the world.
Daniil Medvedev (RUS) vs. Kei Nishikori (JPN) – Not Before 7:00pm on RLA
Medvedev comfortably dispatched of Diego Schwartzman yesterday. He’s 2-2 against Nishikori, who has only played six matches since August of 2019 due to injuries and the pandemic. Andrey Rublev will be favored against Yoshihito Nishioka in the other singles matchup.
The Yarra Valley Classic, a WTA 500 Event
Top seeds: Ash Barty, Sofia Kenin, Karolina Pliskova, Petra Kvitova, Serena Williams, Garbine Muguruza
Ash Barty (1) vs. Marie Bouzkova (16) – Second Match on MCA
In her first match yesterday in nearly a year, Barty looked sharp. Ash has never faced Bouzkova, who earned wins last year over Petra Kvitova and Johanna Konta.
Sofia Kenin (2) vs. Jessica Pegula – Second Match on 1573
Kenin only played one set on Tuesday, as Camila Giorgi retired after dropping the first set. But playing this fellow American will be tricky. Pegula was a finalist in Auckland last year, a champion in Washington two summers ago, and is 2-0 against Kenin.
Garbine Muguruza (6) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (11) – Fourth Match on Court 13
This is a rematch from last year’s Australian Open quarterfinals, when Muguruza prevailed in straight sets. Overall Garbine leads their head-to-head 5-1, with Pavlyuchenkova’s only victory coming on clay.
Serena Williams (5) vs. Tsvetana Pironkova – Not Before 6:30pm on MCA
They just played a few months ago in the US Open quarterfinals, with Serena coming through in a tight three-setter. They were scheduled to play again a few weeks later at Roland Garros, before Serena withdrew due to an Achilles injury. While Pironkova is 3-1 against Venus Williams, with two memorable upset wins at Wimbledon, she’s 0-5 against Serena.
Petra Kvitova (4) vs. Nadia Podoroska (14) – Fifth Match on Court 7
Kvitova survived a tough battle late last night against Venus Williams. Podoroska was a hugely-surprising semifinalist at last fall’s French Open, but she only owns four tour-level wins in her career on hard courts.
Karolina Pliskova (3) vs. Danielle Collins (13) – Last Match on MCA
Both of these power players have easily advanced thus far this week, and have previous success down under. This will be their first career meeting.
The Gippsland Trophy, a WTA 500 Event
Top seeds: Simona Halep, Naomi Osaka, Elina Svitolina, Aryna Sabalenka, Johanna Konta, Iga Swiatek
Naomi Osaka (2) vs. Katie Boulter – First Match on MCA
Osaka looked great yesterday in her first match since her US Open triumph. She’s 2-0 against Boulter, a 24-year-old Brit ranked 371st in the world who upset Coco Gauff on Tuesday.
Elina Svitolina (3) vs. Jelena Ostapenko (13) – First Match on 1573
Svitolina has won 19 of her last 23 matches, with two titles. Ostapenko is vying to win three consecutive matches for the first time since 2019. Jelena is 2-1 against Elina, though Svitolina took their most recent encounter, two years ago on a hard court in Doha.
Elise Mertens (7) vs. Caroline Garcia (12) – First Match on Court 7
This may be one of the best matches on this incredibly busy day. Mertens was one of the WTA’s winningest players last season, but she lost a thrilling contest to Garcia at the French Open, 7-5 in the third. Caroline has claimed all three of their previous clashes.
Simona Halep (1) vs. Laura Siegemund (16) – Third Match on MCA
Halep has only lost one of her last 19 matches, though she’s 1-2 against Siegemund. All three of those matches took place on clay.
Iga Swiatek (6) vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova (9) – Third Match on Court 13
Halep’s only recent loss came at the hands of Swiatek, who got off to a rough start yesterday against Kaja Juvan, but ran away with the last two sets 6-2, 6-1. Iga has never faced Alexandrova, who went 16-7 on hard courts last year.
The Grampians Trophy, a WTA 500 Event
Top seeds: Belinda Bencic, Victoria Azarenka, Elena Rybakina, Maria Sakkari
Jennifer Brady (7) vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Third Match on Court 8
Brady was the breakout star of last year’s US Open, playing an excellent semifinal against eventual champion Naomi Osaka. Since the tour restart last summer, the American is 13-4 on hard courts. Kuznetsova was victorious in their only career meeting, a year ago in St. Petersburg.
Angelique Kerber (8) vs. Katerina Siniakova – Fifth Match on Court 8
A few months ago in Rome, Siniakova crushed a seemingly-disinterested Kerber on clay in Rome 6-3, 6-1. The three-time Major champion much prefers hard courts over clay. And Kerber has claimed all three of their other previous meetings.
The Murray River Open, an ATP 250 Event
Top seeds: Stan Wawrinka, Grigor Dimitrov, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Borna Coric
Stan Wawrinka (1) vs. Mikhail Kukushkin – Second Match on Court 3
This is Wawrinka’s first match in three months, since he reached the Paris Masters quarterfinals with an impressive win over a red-hot Andrey Rublev. Stan is 2-2 lifetime against Kukushkin, though they haven’t played since 2014.
The Great Ocean Road Open, an ATP 250 Event
Top seeds: David Goffin, Karen Khachanov, Hubert Hurkacz, Jannik Sinner
David Goffin (1) vs. Carlos Alcaraz – Sixth Match on 1573
Alcaraz is a 17-year-old Spanish teenager who has already created a lot of buzz. He reached seven lower-level finals last year, winning five of them. And he is coached by Juan Carlos Ferrero, who won Roland Garros just a few weeks after Alcaraz was born. Goffin lost his last five matches of 2020, and spoke of how the pandemic impacted him mentally. But David rebounded by winning three matches last month in Antalya.
Wednesday’s full order of play is here.
