After a scintillating first three days of tennis, here’s where you might find the most dramatic second round matches across Wednesday and Thursday at Melbourne Park.
10-1: Counting down the can’t-miss second round meetings.
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10. Paula Badosa (ESP) v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Wednesday’s second round clash between these big ball-strikers certainly wasn’t a formality given the quality of their first-round opponents. But the manner in which both booked second round spots after long periods on the sidelines with injury suggests this could catch fire on Court 6. Badosa missed six months after cracking her L4 vertebrae last May but crushed American Taylor Townsend in her opening match while Pavlyuchenkova, still rebuilding her ranking after a lengthy knee injury, clobbered her way past 21st seed Donna Vekic in straight sets.
DRAW: Australian Open 2024 women’s singles
9. [3] Daniil Medvedev v Emiil Ruusuvuori (FIN)
Head-to-head: Medvedev leads 2-0
On paper and with a 2-0 head-to-head advantage, a contest world No.3 and two-time runner-up Medvedev should come through, but given his lack of matches in 2024 and his opponent’s fast start to the year this is a potential banana skin for the former US Open champ. Medvedev dropped a set against Terence Atmane before the qualifier retired with cramp and looked rusty and fatigued on a hot day on Monday during his first match of the year. Ruusuvuori will be confident after reaching his second ATP final in Hong Kong in the first week of the season.
8. [14] Daria Kasatkina v Sloane Stephens (USA)
Head-to-head: Stephens leads 3-1
As the higher ranked player, the tournament’s 14th seed and after a strong start to 2024 - a quarterfinal in Brisbane and a runner-up spot in Adelaide - Kasatkina will be the favourite on paper. World No.44 Stephens has an impressive Grand Slam CV though - US Open champion, Roland-Garros runner-up, Australian Open semifinalist and Wimbledon quarterfinalist - an indication of how gifted the American is. “It’s going to be a very tough match,” was Kasatkina’s assessment after her first-round win. “Her ranking right now is not talking about her level. I’ll have to show my best tennis.”
7. [14] Tommy Paul (USA) v Jack Draper (GBR)
Head-to-head: Draper leads 2-0
One of the ATP tour’s most gifted athletes in Paul against one of the biggest young hitters in Draper, this one will be a shotmaking delight. As the world No.14 and semifinalist in 2023, you might think it’s Paul with the winning record over the lefty, but it’s Draper who has two straight-sets victories over his higher ranked opponent - both in Adelaide, and one of those coming just last week. Expect fireworks and maybe a seeded casualty.
6. [2] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) v Lorenzo Sonego (ITA)
Head-to-head: Sonego leads 1-0
There aren’t too many players with a winning record against the world No.2 but the talented Italian is one of them - he beat Alcaraz in the US on an outdoor hard court in 2021. While pulling off another win over ‘Carlitos’ is a huge task, the 28-year-old world No.46 often plays his best on the biggest stages and his brand of tennis will make this an attractive contest. Sonego will benefit from the experience of playing big Davis Cup matches in the past for Italy and can also boast a win over Novak Djokovic.
5. [11] Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) v Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS)
Head-to-head: Ostapenko leads 2-1
After 10 months out following knee surgery, Tomljanovic is another Aussie who’ll hope some rowdy home crowd support might just make the difference when she takes on one of the form players of 2024, 11th seed Ostapenko. Stopped in her tracks during the most successful period of her career when she reached back-to-back Wimbledon and US Open quarterfinals in 2022, the Croatian-born Aussie still believes she can challenge at the majors and what better stage to pull off a top-10 win than at her home Grand Slam?
MORE: Tomljanovic - "I think I'm always dangerous"
4. Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) v [13] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)
Head-to-head: First meeting
If you’re lucky enough to be at Melbourne Park on Thursday then try to get a piece of the action when the talented Aussie takes on the fan fave from Bulgaria. Dimitrov won his first title for seven years during the first week of the season and is fancied by many for a deep run in Melbourne. Kokkinakis will be buzzing after beating Sebastian Ofner in a deciding tiebreak in the first round on Tuesday and backed by another noisy sell-out crowd is capable of upsetting the 13th seed.
MORE: Aussies at The Open - Kokkinakis scores biggest AO singles win in nine years
3. [10] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Matteo Arnaldi (ITA)
Head-to-head: First meeting
As the Aussie No.1 the spotlight will fall on Alex De Minaur on Wednesday afternoon when he takes on the talented young Italian for a place in the third round. In his post-match interview on Monday night, ‘Demon’ reminded the RLA crowd that it was the Italians who ended Australia’s Davis Cup campaign in Malaga in November and this Day 4 duel gives De Minaur a chance for him and his Melbourne fans to gain revenge. While Jannik Sinner has been the Italian everyone’s been talking about, Arnaldi is another one to watch from that country after his ranking move from No.134 to 44 in 2023.
2. [1] Iga Swiatek (POL) v Danielle Collins (USA)
Head-to-head: Swiatek leads 5-1
After seeing off former champion Sofia Kenin in her opening match, two days later on Thursday things don’t get much easier for top seed Iga Swiatek. This time there’s a former runner-up, American Danielle Collins, standing in her way. Although the Pole goes into this one having won five of their previous six meetings, the one that got away came in the 2022 semifinals at this very event when Collins reached the final that year. The American will be hoping lightning strikes twice.
READ: Petchey - "Iga looks more eager than ever"
1. Mirra Andreeva v [6] Ons Jabeur (TUN)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Rod Laver Arena at 12 noon on Wednesday is the place to be for arguably the most intriguing second-round match of the lot when 16-year-old wunderkind Mirra Andreeva steps on court with her idol Ons Jabeur. The teenager revealed during her run at Roland Garros last year that she was desperate to get on the practice court with the Tunisian trailblazer but she can go one better on Day 4 with a shot at sending the sixth seed towards the exit door. Despite a gap of 41 places in the rankings, Jabeur knows only too well the threat the youngster poses. “It's going to be a very difficult match,” she admitted. “I know she's 16 years old, but she's very tough. I might be her idol, but she wants to go there and kick my ass.”