Three women and two men who have been Australian Open champions are in action on Day 5 at Melbourne Park – defending champions Caroline Wozniacki and Roger Federer as well as Angelique Kerber, Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal.
MORE: Day 5 preview – A journey of discovery
Who will emerge to get to the final from these two halves of the draw? Will it be the tried and true aforementioned names, or lesser-known but quality players such as Aryna Sabalenka, Ashleigh Barty and Caroline Garcia on the women’s side, or Karen Khachanov, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alex de Minaur among the men?
And that’s not mentioning well-established players such as Sloane Stephens, Tomas Berdych, Grigor Dimitrov and Roberto Bautista Agut. Wozniacki and Federer may yet return to their respective finals, but it surely won’t be without a serious tussle or two along the way.
Day 5 matches.
No. 6 Petra Kvitova vs. No. 49 Belinda Bencic
Kvitova is a Czech and Bencic a Swiss with Slovak ancestry. They have played twice with Kvitova prevailing on both occasions.
Now 29, Kvitova came into Australian Open 2019 after a 1-6 7-5 7-6(3) victory over Barty in the Sydney final. She reached the 2012 semifinals at the Australian Open, but her results have since tailed off resulting in a modest 6-5 record.
Bencic, the world junior champion in 2013, has been as high as No. 7 as a pro, but back issues halted her rise soon after she had entered the top 10 in 2016.
She may have already had her highlight of the Australian summer when she joined compatriot Federer to win the Hopman Cup two weeks ago. Both Bencic and Kvitova like to go for their shots so, ironically, the better defence could well be the deciding factor in the outcome.
Prediction: Kvitova in three sets.
No. 11 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 87 Amanda Anisimova
It might seem that Anisimova is yet another tall Russian until you check and see that she was born in Freehold, New Jersey, USA – to Russian parents born in Moscow.
Last year Anisimova was the first 16-year-old to make the round of 16 at the Indian Wells WTA mandatory event, and that included a win over Kvitova. Her two victories this week at Melbourne Park are her first at a Grand Slam event. Anisimova speaks English and Russian and has moved on from New Jersey – now residing in Miami.
Sabalenka, 20, had a banner breakthrough year in 2018 – winning the WTA title in Wuhan, China and making a big statement by knocking off eight top-10 players. Coached by the droll former ATP pro Dmitry Tursunov, Belarusian Sabalenka has talked about putting behind her the incident a year ago when elements in the Rod Laver Arena crowd imitated her grunting during a first-round loss to Barty.
Prediction: Sabalenka in two sets.
No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki vs. No. 30 Maria Sharapova
It seems unlikely that two of biggest names in women’s tennis are squaring off in the third round of a Grand Slam event – but that’s mainly because Sharapova has never been quite the same player since she returned in April 2017 from a 15-month drug suspension. Also, her body, now 31 years old, has not co-operated and she has had forearm, shoulder and thigh injuries over the past 12 months.
Wozniacki has had her own challenges – specifically being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis before last year’s US Open. But she has learned to manage it, and won the WTA mandatory event in Beijing last October following the diagnosis.
Sharapova leads their head-to-head 6-4, but they haven’t played since Madrid in 2015. Both have advanced to the third round with relative ease, and should be fit and fresh for the early-round marquee match-up in the women’s event.
Prediction: Wozniacki in three sets.
No. 2 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 29 Alex de Minaur
Alex ‘the demon’ de Minaur is the darling of Australian tennis fans – a hard-working, tennis-loving athlete who seems like a good guy to boot.
While there’s no doubting the public sentiment in Australia for the 19-year-old, during this Australian Open Nadal seems to be in enough television commercials to almost qualify him as a local.
In their only meeting, the 32-year-old Spaniard defeated de Minaur 6-1 6-2 6-4 in the third round at Wimbledon last year.
“I feel like I learnt a lot from that experience,” de Minaur said after his three hours and 52 minutes on court on Wednesday night with Henri Laaksonen. “I’m really looking forward to just having fun, going out there and just competing.” Aussies expect nothing less from their favourite demon.
Prediction: Nadal in four sets.
No. 11 Karen Khachanov vs. No. 24 Roberto Bautista Agut
It is no understatement to say that Bautista Agut has been the player of the year so far in men’s tennis. Not only did he win the year-opening ATP event in Doha, defeating world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, but he overcame Andy Murray in his emotional farewell to the Australian Open on Monday before outlasting fair dinkum Aussie John Millman 6-3 6-1 3-6 6-7(6) 6-4 on Wednesday night at Melbourne Arena.
The 22-year-old Khachanov has a ‘silent K’ surname and a wife, Veronica Shkliaeva, he has been married to since 2016. Following his victory at the Paris (indoor) Masters event last November, defeating Djokovic in the final, he has moved to the head of the class among prospects hoping to dominate tennis – exception made for current No. 4 Sascha Zverev – in the eventual absence of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic et al.
Pre-tournament, Khachanov said he’s not thinking about winning a Grand Slam but instead taking things match by match. While Bautista Agut leads their head-to-head 2-1, Khachanov has to be fresher than his very busy 30-year-old Spanish opponent.
Prediction: Khachanov in four sets.
No. 21 Grigor Dimitrov vs. No. 102 Thomas Fabbiano
Long touted as a possible successor to Federer with his stylish tennis and single-handed backhand, the 27-year-old Dimitrov rose to No. 3 in the world at the end of 2017 largely on the basis of his victory in the ATP Finals in London. But he faded in 2018, finishing the year at No. 19.
To help revitalise his career, he has hooked up with Andre Agassi, a four-time Aussie Open champion, as his coach. So far Dimitrov is happy with his time with the 48-year-old American legend and said, “the biggest thing that stands out is that I’m learning something every single day.”
On Friday, he faces Fabbiano, the 173cm Italian who beat 213cm American Reilly Opelka 6-7(15) 6-2 6-4 3-6 7-6(5) while being ‘out-aced’ 67-2 on Wednesday. After being on the receiving end of that ace barrage, the 29-year-old Fabbiano did see one positive. “I probably covered more ground doing my ‘walk-arounds’ to find concentration rather than during rallies,” he joked.
It’s unlikely to be like that against Dimitrov.
Prediction: Dimitrov in three sets.