Australian Open Day Five Preview: Top Seeds Kerber, Murray In Action

January 19, 2017 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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The first tickets in the Australian Open fourth round will be punched as we enter the fifth day in Melbourne.  Top seeds Angelique Kerber and Andy Murray will be in action, and there are multiple intriguing matchups in both draws to entertain you on Thursday night.

On the men’s side, 23rd seeded American Jack Sock takes on 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a matchup of two of the biggest forehands on tour. Tsonga has won the two prior meetings with Sock, including last year at the U.S. Open. Many people feel this could be the Grand Slam that Sock breaks out at, and if he can get past Tsonga, he could very well advance to the quarterfinals and a potential matchup with Stan Wawrinka.

The 2014 champion from Switzerland will try and reach the fourth round for the fifth straight year when he takes on 29th seed Viktor Troicki on Thursday. Wawrinka is 7-0 all-time versus Troicki and the two met just last week in Brisbane. Wawrinka looked superb in his second round match against Steve Johnson, hitting 45 winners to just 26 unforced errors, and hopes to repeat that performance against Troicki.

The world number one Murray takes on American Sam Querrey, seeking a spot in the Australian Open fourth round for a ninth consecutive year. The five-time finalist has yet to drop a set in Melbourne, and owns a 6-1 record against the 31st seeded American.

The matchup on the men’s side that most people are looking forward to is the four-time champion Roger Federer taking on 10th seed Tomas Berdych. Federer is 16-6 all-time against Berdych, but is still finding his form after missing six months last year due to injuries. Berdych has looked good in his opening rounds, but will have to deal with a familiar yet intimidating opponent tonight.

Defending champion and world number one Angelique Kerber will play Kristyna Pliskova and hopes she has an easier time than she did in her second round match against Carina Witthoeft. Kerber was pushed the distance in her last match and had to play three sets, and a straight-sets win against Pliskova, the sister of fifth-seed Karolina Pliskova, would go a long way towards defending her title.

Americans Venus Williams, Coco Vandeweghe and Alison Riske will all be in action looking for spots in the fourth round. Williams, the 2003 finalist in Melbourne, will take on China’s Ying-Yang Duan, while Riske plays Sonia Cirstea of Romania.

Vandeweghe takes on Eugenie Bouchard, the former semifinalist who has looked like she has regained the form that saw her jump to number five in the world a couple of years ago. Bouchard won the only meeting between these two, but Vandeweghe hopes to be a part of the American charge down under.

Click Here to see the full schedule and order of play for day five at the Australian Open. 


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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