Two players who have been labeled as tennis’ bad boys will meet on Thursday in Melbourne. But it is unfair to lump them together. One is the reigning US Open champion and on the brink of becoming the No.1 player in the world. The other hasn’t reached a Major quarterfinal in seven years, and is currently ranked outside the top 100. However, Nick Kyrgios often plays his best tennis at his home country’s biggest tournament. And he has a history of upsetting top players like Daniil Medvedev.
Each day this preview will highlight the five most intriguing matchups, while outlining the other notable matches on the schedule. Thursday’s play will begin at 11:00am local time.
Garbine Muguruza (3) vs. Alize Cornet – 11:00am on Rod Laver Arena
Nearly five years after her last Major title, is Muguruza ready to win another? She’s coming off the third biggest title of her career at the WTA Finals, and was the runner-up in Melbourne two years ago. But Cornet is far from an easy out. The Frenchwoman has scored many upsets over top players throughout her career, most notably over Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2014. And last June on grass in Berlin, Cornet defeated Muguruza in a third set tiebreak. However, Muguruza’s dictating power should allow her to avenge that loss on Thursday.
Anett Kontaveit (6) vs. Clara Tauson – 11:00am on Margaret Court Arena
Since hiring Dmitry Tursonov as her coach, Kontaveit has accumulated an astounding record of 33-5. During that span, she’s earned four titles, reached the championship match at the WTA Finals, and nearly won another event last week in Sydney, losing to Barbora Krejcikova 14-12 in a third set tiebreak. But Tauson could provide some legitimate resistance. The 19-year-old from Denmark has been lauded by many as a future top player, and she advanced to three finals at multiple levels to close out 2021. Three years ago, Clara was a junior champion in Melbourne. Their first career meeting could be a tight one, though Kontaveit remains the favorite with her punishing groundstrokes and recent form.
Taylor Fritz (20) vs. Frances Tiafoe – Not Before 1:00pm on John Cain Arena
This is a tough second round draw for both Americans, who are not only close friends, but have also been playing some good tennis over the last few months. Fritz reached the semifinals in Indian Wells, the final in St. Petersburg, and the quarters in Bercy. And to start off 2022, he scored upset wins over Cam Norrie and Felix Auger-Aliassime at the ATP Cup. Tiafoe scored a thrilling victory over Andrey Rublev at the US Open, and reached the final in Vienna. However, Frances went 0-2 to begin the year, and required five sets to advance beyond the 198th-ranked player in the world on Tuesday. With Fritz taking their last two encounters, I like his chances of making it three in a row.
Felix Auger-Aliassime (9) vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina – Third on Kia Arena
Based on his ATP Cup triumph, and reaching new heights at the last two Majors, much is expected of the 21-year-old Canadian. But after securing the first set in his opening round, Felix would promptly drop seven straight games, complicating matters to where he was forced to come back from a two-sets-to-one deficit. Falling behind against the 22-year-old Spaniard would be even more dangerous. Alejandro easily advanced in straight sets on Tuesday, and debuted inside the top 32 last year thanks to some strong results on both clay and hard courts. In their first career meeting, Auger-Aliassime should still be favored to advance, but not without an extended battle with a player who can often exhaust his opponents with his consistency and endurance.
Daniil Medvedev (2) vs. Nick Kyrgios – 7:00pm on Rod Laver Arena
No one has been playing better on hard courts than Medvedev, who has won 83 of his last 92 matches on this surface. Meanwhile, Kyrgios has only played 16 singles matches in nearly two years, with an 8-8 record. Yet Nick has remained a reliable source of dramatic matches at the Australian Open. A year ago, he overcame Ugo Humbert 6-4 in the fifth. And two years ago, he outlasted Karen Khachanov in fifth-set tiebreak. However, those compelling victories occurred in his favorite slot: the night session on John Cain Arena. This match will be on Rod Laver Arena, where he has not won a match since 2018. And while Kyrgios is 2-0 lifetime against Medvedev, neither of those matches were best-of-five. While I expect Nick will keep this competitive, with thorough inspiration fromd the Australian crowd, Medvedev’s defensive skills will likely prove to be too much.
Other Notable Matches on Thursday:
Aryna Sabalenka (2) vs. Xinyu Wang – Sabalenka overcame her recent service woes to win in three on Tuesday, and thanked Mark Philippoussis for his advice on her serve. Xinyu is a 20-year-old from China who won her first main draw match at a Slam in the first round.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (10) vs. Sam Stosur (WC) – In her last singles event, Stosur delighted the Melbourne crowd on Tuesday by coming back from a set down to earn only her second win at this event since 2015. Pavlyuchenkova has reached the quarterfinals here in three of the last five years, and won her opening round decisively, dropping only three games. Stosur leads their head-to-head 5-4, though they haven’t played in nearly four years.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) vs. Sebastian Baez – Tsitsipas appeared unhampered by his recent elbow surgery on Tuesday, easily prevailing in straight sets. Baez is a 21-year-old from Argentina who won a five-setter on the same day.
Andy Murray (WC) vs. Taro Daniel (Q) – What will Murray have left in the tank after his latest grueling contest at a Major? He played for five sets and nearly four hours in the first round. Daniel has won nine straight sets since qualifying began last week, and recently hired Sven Groeneveld as his coach.
Emma Raducanu (17) vs. Danka Kovinic – In the opening round, Raducanu rediscovered some of her magic from New York, taking out Sloane Stephens in three. Kovinic is a 27-year-old from Montenegro who has never been beyond the second round at a Major.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.
