Some great matchups are on deck in the Australian Open Round of 16, with Daniil Medvedev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner among the players in contention. Our panelists offer their predictions for all of the round of 16 matches in Melbourne.
Maxime Cressy vs Daniil Medvedev
Jakub Bobro: Medvedev continues to look like the prime favorite for the title in Melbourne, his latest win being a straightforward affair against Botic Van De Zandschulp. His next opponent, Maxime Cressy, has ascended to a new level this Australian summer. The American’s run to the fourth round here and finals in Sydney has ensured that he will no longer have to play Challengers in 2022 and instead gets to be a potentially dangerous opponent on the main tour. It’s clear that the fast conditions in Australia suit Cressy but Medvedev should put up a stop to his run. Medvedev in 4
Harsh Bhoot: Medvedev hasn’t really been flustered this year at the Australian Open. Even when he dropped a set to Kyrgios, he looked calm and full of immense self belief. Cressy could shake that up if he plays the way he wants to but I can’t see the American nicking off more than a set. Expect Medvedev to return well as he does generally and pick up the win. Medvedev in 4
Damian Kust: What a matchup this is, can you really play a serve-and-volleying game against Daniil Medvedev? The Russian’s returning position is usually so far behind the baseline that it gives the attacking player plenty of time to set up the volley and makes a short stab very dangerous. However, the ball is also significantly more powerful and very tough to control. How it balances out, we shall see. Maxime Cressy’s baseline game and return have massively improved during the off-season and he will need every bit of that to get a shot at breaking the Russian’s serve. Medvedev should be able to generate more opportunities for himself and take this one. Medvedev in 4
Alex de Minaur vs Jannik Sinner
Jakub: An exciting meeting between the young up-and-comers with the spice of a hometown favorite added in. Each of them has only been to the quarterfinals once before and they stand before that opportunity again. Sinner is the favorite, still undefeated this season and won his two previous meetings against De Minaur. The Australian will have the crowd on his side though and his speed makes him an annoying opponent to face on his day. Sinner in 5
Harsh: What a battle of the young guns this is going to be. The head to head favors 2-0 to Sinner but De Minaur has been playing inspired tennis this week. Expect De Minaur to stretch Sinner throughout but the Italian looks in fine ball striking mood to over power De Minaur from the baseline. Sinner in 5
Damian: With Casper Ruud’s withdrawal, Alex de Minaur got a great opportunity to go deep in this event and wasted no time by swiftly taking it. The Australian loves playing in front of the home crowd and they will no doubt be an asset of his again on Monday. However, it seems like Jannik Sinner might just be a bit too strong at the moment. De Minaur’s court coverage and insane retrieving skills can make a player overhit, but the Italian has already shown that he has the tools to dispatch a great defender on multiple occasions. His sustained power hitting from the baseline should work well here as he’s not a player who’s got one kill shot that either goes in or not, he can build up the rally and consistently hit big and deep. His transition game has also been improving, helping him lock up points quicker. Sinner in 4
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Marin Cilic vs Felix Auger-Aliassime
Jakub: The 2018 finalist upset fifth seed Andrey Rublev to reach the fourth round for the fourth time in the last five years in Melbourne. The 33-year-old faces Felix Auger-Aliassime who struggled in the first two matches but was dominant against Dan Evans in the third round. Cilic leads the head-to-head 3-0 and we might be in for an exciting story of a veteran player overcoming the odds for one last great run. Cilic in 5
Harsh: Cilic looked in vintage form in his win over Rublev and he’ll be liking his chances against Auger-Aliassime, a player he’s never lost to in three previous meetings. After the initial first round hiccup for the Canadian, Auger-Aliassime has looked in decent touch. There’s definite room for improvement for the young Canadian and I’m banking on the fact that he can, which should be enough to get past Cilic. Auger-Aliassime in 5
Damian: Felix Auger-Aliassime had to spend the most time on court to win his first two rounds, but did extremely well to clean up his game ahead of his next match. His forehand just crushed Dan Evans’s backhand slice and didn’t leak barely any errors. Marin Cilic is a completely different matchup and someone who will stand up to the Canadian from the baseline. Both players can put up very uneven performances, especially on the mental side of things. Auger-Aliassime seems to have really mastered the art of winning when not playing his best though and seems like more of a lock to perform at a great standard. Auger-Aliassime in 4
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Taylor Fritz
Jakub: A two-time semifinalist in Melbourne, Tsitsipas continues to march through the draw, most recently beating Benoit Paire. Next up, he faces his first seed in Taylor Fritz. The American has faced some tough opponents in Frances Tiafoe and Roberto Bautista Agut but came through to reach the first slam fourth round of his career. Not counting Laver Cup, Fritz leads the head-to-head 2-1, though both his wins came back in 2015. Both have significantly improved since and though Fritz will be tough to beat, I think Tsitsipas will advance. Tsitsipas in 4
Harsh: Tsitsipas has fought hard to reach the second week. The Greek who is still in some ways recovering from a surgery is yet to reach his peak level and is at a danger of bowing out. Fritz batled past in his third round and while he’s never beaten Tsitsipas, should be able to create ample opportunities to wrestle control of the match. Expect an epic encounter. Fritz in 5
Damian: Taylor Fritz is finally into the second week of a Major for the very first time. The American had to play a five-setter against Roberto Bautista Agut but it clocked in at just a bit over three hours and wasn’t overly physical. If he can recover for the fourth round, he’s playing well enough right now to go toe-to-toe with Stefanos Tsitsipas. His lacking movement is now significantly tougher to expose and the forehand shotmaking has never been better (35 groundstroke winners off that wing against Bautista Agut, just 16 unforced errors). This could be a year where Fritz takes his game to a whole new level, this would be quite a start. Fritz in 5
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