It’s always sad that after the first two days of a Grand Slam tournament, half of the singles competitors are eliminated. For many at the Australian Open, it means a long trek home to the northern hemisphere and the harsh reality of having to return too soon to a colder clime.
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On the positive side, there weren’t many big-name players ousted in the AO 2019 opening round, and round two in the bottom halves of both draws will feature five Grand Slam champions on the women’s side – Angelique Kerber, Petra Kvitova, Maria Sharapova, Sloane Stephens and Caroline Wozniacki – and three on the men’s side – Marin Cilic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Onto Day 3.
No. 6 Petra Kvitova vs. No. 70 Irina-Camelia Begu
These two fit the prototype of most successful female players of today. They are on the older side – both are 28 – and both 180cm-plus tall.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova enters the Australian Open fresh off a thrilling 1-6 7-5 7-6(3) victory over Ashleigh Barty in the Sydney International final last Saturday. Among the purest hitters of the ball on the women’s tour, the left-handed Czech reached the Australian Open semifinals in 2012, but has an unflattering 4-5 match record in her past five appearances.
Begu, from Bucharest, has a career-high ranking of No. 22 (2016), but is just 2-3 in her last three appearances at Melbourne Park since reaching the round of 16 in 2015. Kvitova leads their head-to-head 3-0.
Prediction: Kvitova in three sets.
No. 11 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 97 Katie Boulter
Boulter, 22, was prominent during this Australian summer, representing Great Britain alongside Cameron Norrie at the Hopman Cup. She lost her three matches, but pushed Serena Williams and Belinda Bencic to tiebreak sets. Last year was her first in the top 100 as she reached a career high of No. 92.
Boulter can match Sabalenka in height (182cm) but she doesn’t have anything like the recent resume of the 20-year-old Belarusian. Sabalenka rose from No. 78 to No. 11 in 2018, won a WTA title in Wuhan, and was part of one of the highest-quality matches of the year – a 6-3 2-6 6-4 loss to eventual champion Naomi Osaka in the US Open quarterfinals.
Prediction: Sabalenka in two sets.
No. 30 Maria Sharapova vs. No. 64 Rebecca Peterson
At age 31 and 11 years removed from winning the title at Melbourne Park, Sharapova rekindled thoughts of the days of yore with her 6-0 6-0 victory over qualifier Harriet Dart of Great Britain on Monday. In 2013, the Russian dispatched her first two opponents via ‘double bagels’, and the streak didn’t end until she faced and defeated Venus Williams 6-1 6-3 in the third round.
The 23-year-old Peterson broke into the top 100 in 2018, replacing long-time No. 1 Johanna Larsson as the top player from Sweden. She reached the third round of the 2018 US Open before losing to big-hitting Kaia Kanepi of Estonia. So she will not be too surprised by the high-power Sharapova onslaught and should end the Russian’s game-winning (not match-winning) streak.
Prediction: Sharapova in two sets.
No. 6 Kevin Anderson vs. No. 39 Frances Tiafoe
The 32-year-old Anderson is a late bloomer taking full advantage of his experience on the tour. He made it to the 2017 US Open final (lost to Nadal) and the 2018 Wimbledon final (lost to Novak Djokovic). The giant South African possesses a redoubtable serve, but it has been his conquering of his nerves that has allowed him to reach the game’s elite and a career-high ranking of No. 5 last year.
Tiafoe, who has ancestral roots in Sierra Leone, grew up with his father being a custodian at a tennis facility in Maryland, USA. He has a kind of elaborate buggy-whip forehand that can do damage as well as good pop on his serve. The 20-year-old has a 5-11 Grand Slam event record and is just 2-2 at the Aussie Open. Anderson leads their head-to-head 3-0, with all three wins coming last year – in Tokyo, Miami and New York (indoor).
Prediction: Anderson in four sets.
No. 15 Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. No. 201 Victor Troicki
The 20-year-old Tsitsipas is of the tennis future while the 32-year-old Troicki, a qualifier, is more from the past. Troicki made one of his first impressions on the tennis world when he showcased his swashbuckling style as a 21-year-old in a 7-6(3) 7-5 6-1 first-round loss to Nadal at Rod Laver Arena in 2008. The Serb’s career-high ranking was No. 12 in 2011.
Tsitsipas vaulted from No. 91 to No. 15 last year helped by a title in Stockholm and runner-up finishes to Nadal in Barcelona and at the Canadian Open in Toronto. The Greek is a charismatic, well-spoken guy who likes to chronicle his travels in videos. He practiced with Serena Williams recently and remarked about her on Monday, “(she) was even better than some of the male players I’ve been practicing with.”
Prediction: Tsitsipas in four sets.
No. 23 Roberto Bautista Agut vs. No. 37 John Millman
Everyman Millman has become not only the darling of Australia but of the tennis world since his memorable 3-6 7-5 7-6(7) 7-6(3) upset of Federer at last year’s US Open. His success in 2018 propelled him from a ranking obscurity of No. 128 to No. 38 – all this at age 29.
On Wednesday he’s matched against one of the great robotic ground-strokers on the tour in Bautista Agut. The 30-year-old Spaniard showed off his skills on Monday evening in dispatching Andy Murray at Melbourne Arena, and upset world No. 1 Djokovic two weeks ago in Doha.
Millman, the pride of Brisbane, has the same kind if indefatigable tenacity as Bautista Agut, but so far it hasn’t resulted in a win – the man from Castellon de la Plana leads their head-to-head 3-0, with wins in Chennai and Beijing in 2016 and at Roland Garros in 2017.
Prediction: Bautista Agut in five sets.