Australian Open Day 3 Preview: Former Champions In Second Round Action
The third day of the Australian Open gets underway tonight as the second-round begins in Melbourne. The top seeds, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams are both in action, as well as former champions Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova, making tonight’s action must-see television.
Below are some of the matchups to watch:
(1) Novak Djokovic (Serbia) vs. Quentin Halys (France)
The world number one will take on the 187th ranked French teenager as he seeks to win his ninth straight match, dating back to last season.
(3) Roger Federer (Switzerland) vs. Alexander Dolgopolov (Ukraine)
Four-time champion Roger Federer draws a tricky matchup with the 35th ranked Ukrainian in the second-round. The Swiss Maestro has defeated Dolgopolov in their only two previous meetings, and will look to tame the big-hitting Dolgopolov yet again.
(7) Kei Nishikori (Japan) vs. Austin Krajicek (United States)
These two have met once before, in the Memphis quarterfinals last year, which Nishikori came back from a set down to win. Krajicek is Nishikori’s hitting partner and the two have known each other for a long time, making this matchup especially intriguing.
“We played in Memphis last year. It was a tough match,” said Nishikori. “He’s a very aggressive player [with a] good serve. It’s not going to be an easy one.”
Noah Rubin (United States) vs. Pierre-Hugues Herbert (France)
Following his first-round upset of 17th seed Benoit Paire in his Australian Open debut, Long Island’s Rubin will take on another Frenchman in Herbert.
Rest of Day 3 Men’s Matches:
(6) Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) vs. Mirza Basic (Bosnia Herzegovina)
(9) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) vs. Omar Jasika (Austria)
(29) Nick Kyrgios (Australia) vs. Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay)
(15) David Goffin (Belgium) vs. Damir Dzumhur (Bosnia Herzegovina)
(12) Marin Cilic (Croatia) vs. Albert Ramos-Vinolas (Spain)
(14) Gilles Simon (France) vs. Evgeny Donskoy (Russia)
(28) Andreas Seppi (Italy) vs. Denis Kudla (United States)
(19) Dominic Thiem (Austria) vs. Nicolas Almagro (Spain)
(27) Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) vs. Marco Trungelliti (Argentina)
(26) Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) vs. Daniel Brands (Germany)
(24) Roberto Bautista-Agut (Spain) vs. Dusan Lajovic (Serbia)
Federico Delbonis (Argentina) vs. Renzo Olivo (Argentina)
(1) Serena Williams (United States) vs. Su-Wei Hsieh (Chinese Taipei)
The world number one will continue her quest for her 22nd career Grand Slam title against Hsieh, who is ranked 90th in the world.
(5) Maria Sharapova (Russia) vs. Aliaksandra Sasnovich (Belarus)
The 2008 champion Sharapova is playing in only her second match of 2016, and will take on the 21-year old from Belarus, who won her first match at a Grand Slam in the opening round.
(4) Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) vs. Eugenie Bouchard (Canada)
Radwanska has played phenomenal tennis thus far in 2016 as she continues her run towards the first Grand Slam title of her career. Bouchard has looked to be in form following an up and down 2015, and this matchup is one of the most compelling in the second round.
Rest of Day 3 Women’s Matches:
(12) Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) vs. Timea Babos (Hungary)
(10) Carla Suarez-Navarro (Spain) vs. Maria Sakkari (Greece)
(6) Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) vs. Daria Gavrilova (Austria)
(23) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) vs. Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukraine)
(13) Roberta Vinci (Italy) vs. Irina Falconi (United States)
(28) Kristina Mladenovic (France) vs. Nicole Gibbs (United States)
Xinyun Han (China) vs. Yulia Putintseva (Kazakhstan)
Lauren Davis (United States) vs. Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia)
Monica Niculescu (Romania) vs. Elizaveta Kulichkova (Russia)
Qiang Wang (China) vs. Anna-Lena Friedsam (Germany)
Margarita Gasparyan (Russia) vs. Kurumi Nara (Japan)
Monica Puig (Puerto Rico) vs. Kristyna Pliskova (Czech Republic)
Ana Konjuh (Croatia) vs. Daria Kasatkina (Russia)
