Australian Open Day Five Preview: Berdych-Kyrgios Showdown Highlights Third Round Action
We have reached the point of the Australian Open where you will begin to see some star-studded matchups, and that is the case on Day 5 in Melbourne as the third round of both the men’s and women’s singles draw gets underway.
Below are some of the men’s matchups to watch:
(3) Roger Federer (Switzerland) vs. (27) Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)
The four-time Australian champion Roger Federer takes on the player who was often dubbed “Baby Fed” when he was first coming up, Grigor Dimitrov. The 27th seeded Bulgarian has grown out of that nickname and looks solid early on in 2016. He has lost all four previous meetings to Federer, including two weeks ago in the Brisbane quarterfinals. Federer has looked like a machine in his first two matches, losing just 14 games in six sets, while Dimitrov dropped a set in his second round match. Dimitrov will need to neutralize the outstanding serve of Federer, but the 34-year-old may be too solid for Dimitrov to break through just yet.
(6) Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) vs. (29) Nick Kyrgios (Australia)
This may be the matchup most tennis fans are excited about on the fifth day of the Australian Open as these two big-hitters will square off for a spot in the fourth round. Berdych has reached the semifinals of every major, including the last two years in Melbourne. But he takes on an opponent in Kyrgios who won’t be affected by the moment, and will most likely have the Aussie crowd cheering for him. This should be an exciting contest with the style of play each uses, and whenever Kyrgios takes the court fans will want to be watching.
(1) Novak Djokovic (Serbia) vs. (28) Andreas Seppi (Italy)
There hasn’t been anyone able to slow down the world number one Novak Djokovic recently. The defending champion has yet to lose in 2016 and is clearly the favorite in Melbourne. But is there something about the 28th-seeded Italian in the third round? Seppi knocked out Federer at this stage a year ago to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open for the second time in his career. Djokovic is 11-0 in his career against Seppi, including a win at last year’s U.S. Open, so it will take a remarkable performance from Seppi to take one the Djoker.
Rest of Day 5 Men’s Matches
â–º(7) Kei Nishikori (Japan) vs. (26) Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain)
​►(9) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) vs. Pierre-Hugues Herbert (France)
​►(12) Marin Cilic (Croatia) vs. (24) Roberto Bautista-Agut (Spain)
​►(14) Gilles Simon (France) vs. Federico Delbonis (Argentina)
​►(15) David Goffin (Belgium) vs. (19) Dominic Thiem (Austria)
Below are some of the women’s matchups to watch:
(1) Serena Williams (United States) vs. Daria Gavrilova (Australia)
The defending champion Serena Williams has looked in form through her first two matches of the tournament despite not having match experience this year heading into Melbourne. She draws Russia’s Daria Kasatkina, the 69th ranked player in the world but a rising star on the tour. Gasatkina knocked off the 27th seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the opening round and hasn’t dropped a set through her first two matches, but will have her hands full with the best player in the world.
(5) Maria Sharapova (Russia) vs. Lauren Davis (United States)
Five Grand Slam titles isn’t the only thing that separates fifth-seed Maria Sharapova and American Lauren Davis. Sharapova stands a foot taller than the Ohio native, and that should play a major factor in this one. While Sharapova struggled with her serve in her second round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, the Russian will probably look to pounce all over Davis’ serve and try to get some early breaks. Sharapova has looked healthy early on, and would love a chance to continue her run in Melbourne and set up a possible showdown with Serena in the quarterfinals.
(4) Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) vs. Monica Puig (Puerto Rico)
Agnieszka Radwanska may be the best women’s player over the last few years that has yet to break through at a Grand Slam. That may change in Melbourne as the fourth-seed from Poland has played some outstanding tennis thus far in 2016, capturing a title in Shenzhen and dropping just 11 games through in her first two victories at the Australian Open. She takes on Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig, who has played well herself thus far this season. She reached the Sydney final, making for a competitive third round battle.
Rest of Day 5 Women’s Matches
​►(​​10) Carla Suarez-Navarro (Spain) vs. Elizaveta Kulichkova (Russia)
​►(12) Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) vs. Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukraine)
​►(13) Roberta Vinci (Italy) vs. Anna-Lena Friedsam (Germany)
​►(28) Kristina Mladenovic (France) vs. Daria Gavrilova (Australia)
​►Margarita Gasparyan (Russia) vs. Yulia Putintseva (Kazakhstan)
