The first Thursday of the first week at the Australian Open is all about putting the second round to bed. Here’s six matches that will make you call in with the flu on Thursday morning.
1. No.2 Roger Federer (SUI) vs. No.55 Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
I bet you have never heard of Jan-Lennard. Roger on the other hand… On paper this looks like a straight forward, straight sets victory for the Swiss Maestro. But the 195cm German has all the tools to shake up the world order. In the opening round at Melbourne on Tuesday, Struff pumped 19 aces and crushed 45 winners to beat Soonwoo Kwon from South Korea in straight sets. Struff hit 39 first serves, and won 34 of them. If Federer is to lose early at Melbourne this year, this is kind of game style to do it.
PREDICTION: Federer in 4 tight sets
2. No.17 Ashleigh Barty (AUS) vs. No.71 Camila Giorgi (ITA)
This is the first night match on Rod Laver Arena. Barty will have almost 15,000 raucous Aussie fans helping her over the line against her in-form Italian opponent. Giorgi came through qualifying last week to reach the semifinals of the Sydney International, defeating four top-50 opponents along the way. Giorgi crushed 12 forehand and 12 backhand winners in her opening round victory at Melbourne Park, and has all the firepower to go toe-to-toe with Barty.
PREDICTION: Barty in 3 highly entertaining sets
Match 3: No.1 Simona Halep (ROU) vs. No.112 Eugenie Bouchard (CAN)
Bouchard’s best ranking was No.5 back at the end of 2014, but she is actually outside the top 100 right now. Is is high time for the inevitable comeback? It’s actually the perfect time when you get to play the No.1 player in the world with no pressure on you at all. The primary tactic in this match with be Bouchard’s aggressive forehand targeting Halep’s running forehand out wide in the deuce court: that’s where Halep struggles, and also the same part of the court she injured her ankle running for a deep, wide defensive forehand in her opening round.
PREDICTION: Bouchard in 3 enthralling sets
4. No.10 Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) vs. No.47 Karen Khachanov (RUS)
Firstly, let’s recognise that both players are 200cm tall. Impressive! It’s fair to say that the old Delpo (born 1988) is playing a new version of himself (born 1996). For those of you that have not yet seen Khachanov in full flight, it’s all about the serve and forehand (yes, just like the Tower of Tandil).
The Russian crushed 21 aces and 15 forehand winners in his opening round victory here in Melbourne. Del Potro defeated Khachanov last week in the Auckland quarter-finals 7-6(4), 6-3 - the perfect dress rehearsal for an upset on Hisense Arena.
PREDICTION: Khachanov in 5 barn-burning sets
5. No.58 Hyeon Chung (KOR) vs. No.53 Daniil Medvedev (RUS)
This is a battle of 21-year-olds. These two players are part of the NextGen influx of youth that is coming to save the day once the current crop of superstars retire. Chung beat American John Isner in Auckland last week, eventually falling in the quarters to David Ferrer. Medvedev is one of the hottest players on tour in 2018, winning the Sydney International last week after coming through qualifying. The Russian has played eight matches in roughly the same span of days. The gas tank has got to be trending towards empty.
PREDICTION: Chung in 4 lung-busting sets
6. No.20 Madison Keys (USA) vs No.92 Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS)
Keys splashed onto the scene in Melbourne in 2015, reaching the semifinals. She has a big game, and can blow anyone in the draw off the court. These two have never played, which will help the Russian a little more this time around. Alexandrova played a solid opening round here in Melbourne on Tuesday, committing only 18 forced errors (12 forehands, 6 backhands). But she will have to withstand hard, heavy groundstrokes against Keys if she is to find a path to victory.
PREDICTION: Keys in 2 hard hitting sets