Five Grand Slam titlists will make a push for the second week of Australian Open 2020 on Saturday, with former Melbourne champions Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka and Angelique Kerber all in action.
But it’s a pair of Russia v Australia third-round showdowns that could fill a fair length of the highlight reels on Day 6.
Seeded 23rd, Nick Kyrgios is gunning for a fourth-round berth at his home slam for the third time when he squares off against 16th seed Karen Khachanov.
In slow conditions before a heaving Melbourne Arena crowd on Thursday night, Kyrgios’s resolve was seriously tested when he led two sets and a break only to concede the third set against marathon man Gilles Simon.
Where the Kyrgios of old may have been rattled as the wiry Frenchman began to press, he regained his composure under pressure to close out the result in four.
“I feel good physically. That's probably the positive I take out of today,” Kyrgios said. “Long rallies, long match, felt good physically. I feel fine at the moment.”
It bodes well for his second clash with the 23-year-old Khachanov.
The Russian won their only prior encounter on hard court at Cincinnati last year in three sets, but is coming off a mammoth four-hour, 36-minute triumph over Swede Mikael Ymer on Thursday night.
“Very aggressive player. He's difficult to play against,” Kyrgios said of Khachanov. “He's got a big serve, big forehand, looks to dictate.”
In the other big Russia v Australian showdown of Day 6, fourth seed Daniil Medvedev meets 20-year-old Alexei Popyrin for the second time.
The 23-year-old Medvedev was the breakout star of 2019, winning two Masters series titles and reaching his first Grand Slam final at the US Open.
As he started his 2020 season, John McEnroe touted him as the man most likely to break the Big Three’s Grand Slam reign.
Popyrin, the son of Russian immigrants to Australia, is through to the third round of his home slam for the second straight year, having pushed eventual semi-finalist Lucas Pouille to five sets at the same stage last January.
He took a set off Medvedev in their only previous meeting in the second round of Wimbledon last year.
“He's probably the hottest opponent you could get right now,” Popyrin said.
“I think I'm a better player right now than I was in Wimbledon. I did a lot of work in pre-season.
“Hopefully I can take the chances … get the chances that I had in Wimbledon on Saturday and convert them.”
Dual Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza arrived as arguably the most dangerous unseeded floater in the women’s draw.
Currently at No.32 in the rankings, the 26-year-old former world No.1 prevailed in a heavy shot-making showdown with Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic to set a third-round meeting with fifth seed Elina Svitolina.
The “adrenaline-addicted” Spaniard set herself the challenge of scaling Mt Kilimanjaro in the off-season, and after ticking that one off the bucket list, has set about regaining her place among the game’s elite in 2020.
She will need to beat the Ukrainian for the fifth time in 11 meetings to book her fifth fourth-round berth.
Muguruza’s compatriot, top seed Nadal, has cruised through his opening two rounds against South American opponents, with his greatest scare in either match coming when he accidentally rifled a forehand return off a fault into a ball girl’s head.
After planting an apologetic kiss and gifting his headband to the smiling girl, Nadal set his sights on a third-round meeting with countryman Pablo Carreno Busta. The 2009 champion has beaten the No.27 seed in four prior encounters.
Fifteenth seed Wawrinka, a champion in 2015, faces a dangerous third-round assignment when he takes on big-serving American John Isner for the fifth time. Wawrinka’s sole victory over the 19th seed came 11 years ago in Japan, with three losses since.
A runner-up at Melbourne Park two years ago, fourth seed Simona Halep has since gone on to land majors at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and starts a strong favourite in a first-time meeting with fiery Kazakh Yulia Putintseva.
Second seed and recent Brisbane winner Karolina Pliskova and 2016 Australian Open champion Kerber will carry unbeaten records into their respective third rounds.
Czech Pliskova is looking for her seventh straight victory over Russian 30th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, while Kerber seeks a 5-0 ledger against Italian Camila Giorgi.