Novak Djokovic was sent packing in round 2, and now the top half of the 2017 Australian Open Men’s Draw is open for the taking. Our panel of Steen Kirby, Alvin Owusu, and Kevin Craig are on hand to guide you through the best day 6 men’s matches, with Rafael Nadal, David Goffin, and Grigor Dimitrov among the big names in action.
(24)Alexander Zverev vs. (9)Rafael Nadal
Steen: Zverev was solid in round 2, but Rafa has been much much better than expected through two matches. Fit, motivated, and newly aggressive, the Spaniard should turn a difficult round 3 contest into a rather routine victory to reach the second week. Nadal has more upside than Zverev in this matchup, presuming he can consistenly make returns of serve. Nadal in 3 sets
Alvin: The younger Zverev bro looked sharp against Tiafoe but Rafa has shown multiple flashes of vintage Nadal this week. He’s going to make Sascha work both mentally and physically. Too much Zverev to handle over five. Nadal in 4
Kevin: This was the potential third round matchup that everyone was looking forward to when the draw first came out. While it’ll be a good match, I don’t think it will live up to all the hype it’s gotten. Zverev didn’t look good in his first round as he almost got knocked out by Robin Haase, but did bounce back well against Tiafoe. Nadal has looked great throughout his first two matches and is clearly on a mission in Melbourne. He’ll have no issue defeating the Next Gen star as he attempts to make a statement to the tennis world that he isn’t done winning major titles yet. Nadal in 3
(13)Roberto Bautista Agut vs. (21)David Ferrer
Steen: Both veterans, these Spaniards have only met twice, and Ferrer won both meetings. Ferru is back in the third round, and has a solid chance at the second week in this one, despite his poor form in recent months. RBA has been totally dominant through two rounds though, and he should have more weapons than Ferrer, given his red hot form. Bautista Agut in 4
Alvin: Gotta love a good battle between countrymen. RBA is going to be on the Ferrer second serve and I think that makes the difference in this one. Bautista Agut in 5
Kevin: Ferrer’s made a somewhat difficult draw look easy in the first two rounds. He crushed a young Australian with a promising game in Omar Jasika before withstanding a good effort from young American Ernesto Escobedo in the second round. So Ferrer is in good form, but Bautista Agut has only lost 13 games in his first two matches and hasn’t been taken beyond 6-3 in a set yet, albeit with an easier draw. I think Ferrer’s solid baseline game will frustrate Bautista Agut for the first couple sets, but Bautista Agut will eventually find a way to hit through it and get the tough win. Bautista Agut in 5
(8)Dominic Thiem vs. Benoit Paire
Steen: I’m still a bit wary of Thiem’s consistency in 2017, but if a someone is going to knock him out, it’s going to be a consistent and steady ballstriker, not Paire. The Frenchman can make some incredible gets and circus shots, but he loses focus and tends go on walkabouts during his matches. Thiem should take advantage and prevail by generating breaks of serve. Thiem in 4
Alvin: If we’re being honest, Benoit Paire shouldn’t even be here. Dominic Thiem should be making the second week of majors moving forward and that has to start here. Thiem in 3
Kevin: Being completely honest, I didn’t think Thiem would get this far. He didn’t look good in the first two weeks of the year, but now he’s into the third round and he has one of the better third round draws you could ask for. Paire got a retirement from Tommy Haas in the first round before struggling to beat the enigmatic Fabio Fognini in the second round, so he isn’t exactly high on confidence at the moment. Thiem should have no issue in this match. Paire might zone for a few games and steal a set, but he won’t be able to keep that up for the whole match. Thiem in 4
(20)Ivo Karlovic vs. (11)David Goffin
Steen: Karlovic recovered from a brutal first rounder to save time on court and win in straights in round 2. Goffin has also played five sets, but he played well in round 2, and looks to be confident. Goffin’s ball striking and return of serve is good enough I think he’ll get a few cracks at the Karlovic serve. That should be enough to reach week 2. Goffin in 4
Alvin: After a marathon 1R match, Ivo bounced back and looked solid in 2R. Goffin struggled with his first serve against Stepanek. He’ll serve better but likely not well enough. Karlovic in 4
Kevin: I was impressed by how well Karlovic bounced back from his 22-20 win in the fifth over Zeballos to beat Whittington in straights, but Goffin is obviously much tougher opposition than the Australian. Karlovic will still be feeling the lingering effects of that long match four days later and that will help contribute to the speedy baseliner taking out the big hitter. Even if Karlovic hadn’t played that long fifth setter, I’d still be heavily favoring Goffin in this one. With the Croat’s serve, he might be able to steal a set in a tiebreak, but Goffin will win in the end. Goffin in 3
(15)Grigor Dimitrov vs. (18)Richard Gasquet
Steen: Gasquet dominates the h2h, leading 5-1, in the battle of these one-handed backhand maestros. Dimitrov enters on a seven match winning streak though, and looks to be playing well. This should be a close match, but Gasquet’s form has simply looked much better thus far than Dimitrov, Gasquet should take advantage of drops in Dimitrov’s level to sneak out a victory. Gasquet in 5
Alvin: Tricky matchup here. With Novak out, the bottom half of the draw is wide open and the winner of this match should be the favorite for the SF spot. Almost a toss-up but I’m giving the slim edge to Grigor. Dimitrov in 5
Kevin: This is the best third round matchup on the bottom half of the draw. It’s also arguably the best matchup you could ask for if you’re a fan of the one-handed backhand. Before the tournament began, I thought Dimitrov would roll through his first three matches, but after seeing the way Gasquet destroyed Berlocq in the second round, I’m forced to rethink that. Of course, Berlocq is nowhere near the same quality as Dimitrov, but you can’t deny how well the Frenchman played. Plus, Dimitrov looked a little shaky against Chung, and an experienced veteran like Gasquet would jump all over that if it happens again. Gasquet in 5
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