Round 3 on the top half of the men’s draw will be decided, as some of the big names in men’s tennis are starting to face off with each other. Steen Kirby, Ricky Dimon of the Grandstand, and Kevin Craig are on hand to guide you through who will reach the second week in the best day 5 matchups.
Mischa Zverev vs. Malek Jaziri
Steen: Jaziri, who “never practices and never goes to the gym”, is in the midst of a late career rise, perhaps because of a renewed commitment to tennis, just as Zverev is. This is an interesting match that is near the top of my list to watch, despite neither player being highly ranked. Zverev comes off a big five set win over Isner, while Jaziri hasn’t dropped a set. Zverev’s serve and volleying is a unique skillset, but a fresher Jaziri should make enough shots to win and make the h2h 3-0. Jaziri in 4
Ricky: Zverev is coming off a 9-7 in the fifth set win over John Isner in the second round that he undoubtedly should have lost. The veteran German saved two match points and held serve from 0-40 down three different times. Not surprisingly, Zverev had much more left in the tank late in the fifth set than did Isner. Still, a four-hour and 10-minute affair is less than ideal heading into another best-of-five contest two days later. Jaziri, on the other hand, has not dropped a set and did not even play a tiebreaker against Go Soeda and Alexander Bublik. Additionally, the Tunisian is 2-0 in the head-to-head series against Zverev. Jaziri in 4
Kevin: Mischa Zverev v. Malek Jaziri for a spot in the fourth round of a major is definitely not something you would expect to see. Jaziri got a huge favor from Alexander Bublik, who took out Lucas Pouille in the first round, allowing the Tunisian to win his first two matches in straight sets over qualifiers. He’ll have a much more difficult task on his hand in the third round as Mischa Zverev beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in straights before chopping down John Isner 9-7 in the fifth. The German has been in very impressive form over the last 12 months, and as long as fatigue from the long second round match isn’t an issue, then he wins this one rather comfortably. Zverev in 4
(10)Tomas Berdych vs. (17)Roger Federer
Steen: Berdych hasn’t beaten Federer in over 3 years now, but he’s had a very light path to round 3. The Swiss Maestro has just dropped just one set, and should be fresh given how little he’s played in the past six months. Rust will be more an issue than fatigue in this third round battle of formerly elite players. Federer is the better player, but his level isn’t back to what it was before his injury, and I see Berdych’s power disrupting his timing and rhythm. It’s a stretch, but I’ll stick with the mentally weak Czech reaching the second week. His toughest task will be believing in his own head he can beat Federer. Berdych in 4
Ricky: Get your popcorn ready for this matchup, which generally takes place much later in tournaments but is happening in the third round now since Federer is down to No. 17 and Berdych is down to No. 10. The 35-year-old Swiss has dropped because of a knee injury that sidelined him for the rest of 2016 after Wimbledon. Berdych has dropped because of consistently underwhelming tennis. Federer’s 2017 comeback has been encouraging for the most part, with solid play at the Hopman Cup and through two rounds in Melbourne. Federer leads the head-to-head series 16-6, including 3-0 at the Aussie Open. Federer in 4
Kevin: Both men won their second round matches in straight sets, but neither really looked too convincing. Berdych had trouble putting away a struggling Ryan Harrison, while Noah Rubin hanged tough with Federer for the duration of their match. Berdych knows that he should probably win this match, and might let that get into his head. He’s never exactly been known to win big matches. Federer isn’t back at 100 percent yet, but I think his first big match since his return will work out all of the rust and get him into the fourth round any beyond. Berdych will take the first set and make a run at going up two sets to love, but Federer will find his comfort zone eventually and run away with this one. Federer in 4
(4)Stan Wawrinka vs. (29)Viktor Troicki
Steen: Wawrinka leads the h2h 7-0, and Troicki is coming off a second straight five setter in the Australian heat. I don’t think there is much to say here, Wawrinka, after shaking off the misery he experienced in round 1, should ease past his exhausted buddy and into the money end of the tournament. Wawrinka in 3
Ricky: Wawrinka reached the Aussie Open quarterfinals in 2011, won it in 2014, and returned to the semis in 2015. The fourth-seeded Swiss needed five sets to get past Martin Klizan in his opener but he picked up the pace to crush Steve Johnson 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday. Wawrinka is 7-0 lifetime against Troicki and just beat him 7-6(5), 6-4 earlier this month in Brisbane. The Serb has just barely advanced so far, outlasting both Damir Dzumhur and Paolo Lorenzi in five sets. Ten sets in his legs and zero wins in seven attempts against Wawrinka do not bode well for Troicki’s chances. Wawrinka in 3
Kevin: Wawrinka shouldn’t have much trouble in this one. He barely survived his first round encounter with Martin Klizan, but that woke him up as he easily dispatched American Stevie Johnson in the second round. Meanwhile, Troicki has had to go five sets in both of his matches, including the first round in which he almost blew another two sets to love lead. The Serbian is lacking confidence right now, especially since he had his Sydney title stolen away from him. Wawrinka in 3
(12)Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. (23)Jack Sock
Steen: My two colleagues are going with Sock, but I’m going with Tsonga in this one. The Frenchman plays great in Melbourne and leads the h2h 2-0. Sock has made huge improvements in 2017, and if he keeps this up, he’ll reach the top 10, but a fit and focused Tsonga is still more versatile than the American. Tsonga in 5
Ricky: Sock is the most in-form and arguably the best player outside the top 10 right now. He went 3-1 in singles at the Hopman Cup, won the Auckland title, and so far in Melbourne has crushed Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Karen Khachanov. Tsonga made mostly quick work of an easy draw (Thiago Monteiro and Dusan Lajovic) to reach the third round. The Frenchman generally performs well Down Under and he is a former runner-up of this event (2008), but he is always a question mark physically. There are no questions with Sock at the moment. Sock in 4
Kevin: Sock has won 17 of his last 21 matches, including his second career ATP title in Auckland. His good form has continued into Melbourne with two straight set wins, but Tsonga has looked even better. Before the tournament began, I had Sock winning this match, but Tsonga has really made me rethink that pick. Aside from one fluke tiebreak set that he dropped to Thiago Monteiro in the first round, Tsonga hasn’t been taken beyond 6-3 in the six sets that he has won. This will be a big hitting affair with the one who makes less errors coming out on top, and very little will separate the winner from the loser. Sock in 5
(27)Bernard Tomic vs. Dan Evans
Steen: This pairing have split h2h meetings, and neither is the hardest hitter on tour. Tomic is lucky to make the third round after a miserable start to the season, but he’s still not playing to his potential. Evans upset Marin Cilic in the last round and has won six of his last seven matches. As far as I can tell Evans is fit, his form is better than Tomic, and he has nothing to lose in this match. Look for Evans to swing freely and prevail. Evans in 4
Ricky: Evans is basically an older (albeit by just two years), smaller version of Tomic. The Brit was a wild man off the court in the early stages of his career, wasting a whole lot of talent. He finally buckled down and hard work is paying off in the form of three consecutive trips to the third round of slams. Evans finished runner-up last week in Sydney and dropped a combined one set to Facundo Bagnis and Marin Cilic earlier this week. Tomic, whose fitness is well less than 100 percent right now, could barely stand up at the end of a tough four-set win over Victor Estrella Burgos on Wednesday night. Evans in 4
Kevin: Tomic would normally be the easy pick in this match. If he plays like he did in the first round against Bellucci, then he wins this one easily. If he plays like he did against Estrella in the second round, then Evans will take the match. The Brit is in decent form, coming off his run to the final in Sydney and his upset of Marin Cilic in the second round, so he will be looking for another big win. The hopes of Australian fans now solely lie on Tomic’s shoulders with the early exit of Nick Kyrgios, though, so I think Tomic will come up big. Tomic in 5
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