By Chris Oddo | Saturday January 20, 2018
Will Nick Kyrgios continue wowing Aussie fans into week two at Melbourne? We ponder this and more in 5 burning questions.
Photo Source: Mark Peterson/Corleve
Today's preview of Day 7 of the Australian Open will be prefaced with a few burning questions.
Was that Simona Halep’s Most Impressive Win?
Sitting here reflecting on a glorious Day 6 in Melbourne, and it’s hard not to wonder if this was the biggest win that we’ve ever seen from Simona Halep at a major? I mean, yeah, she’s a two-time finalist, so we have to rank her wins over Karolina Pliskova and Andrea Petkovic in Roland Garros semifinals as pretty huge. Maybe a die-hard Halep fan could answer this question better, but for my money this was the most inspiring and incredible match I’ve ever seen Halep play. And not just because the match went 3:44 and stretched out to 28 games in set three.
What made the victory so special was the mental toughness that Halep displayed. How good did her left ankle, badly sprained four days prior, feel over the course of this epic struggle? (answer: not good at all) And how frustrating was it for her to get pushed around by a feisty-as-all-get-out American all afternoon, perhaps because she was limited in a movement capacity? Well, we’ll never know, but make no mistake about it: Halep had to show immense intestinal fortitude to get through this match. She saved three match points and overcame the fact that she served for the match three times and failed.
A younger, less mature Halep might (would?) have melted down and crumbled. Not this Simona Halep. She may not go on to win this tournament, but in my opinion the Romanian has taken another step in reaching that ultimate goal of becoming a Grand Slam champion with this win. She’s 26 and peaking not just as an athlete but also as a problem solver. It’s been a long road for Halep, just like it was for Angelique Kerber before she hit the Grand Slam jackpot. But rest assured, Halep is going to win a major someday, whether it comes next weekend or not.
Will Fitness Sabotage Djokovic’s Australian Open Chances?
I don’t know if you guys watched Djokovic’s straight-sets win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas last night, but if you missed it you missed moments of truly vintage Djokovician dominance. There were those moments where Djokovic displayed his old vigor and his old ability to use every millimeter of the tennis court to create a pain chamber for his opponent. He moved beautifully, struck the ball with purpose, and seemed all at once to have recaptured the essence of what it is that has made him a worthy addition to tennis’ Mount Rushmore over the last decade.
When he controls the rallies and moves his opponent around from corner to corner with such ease he’s not just a dangerous player—he’s the best player. That’s the Djokovic I saw last night at times, and if he’s able to stay healthy and put whatever ailed him at times physically last night behind him, he’s instantly a very legitimate contender for this crown. It didn’t seem possible a week ago. We wondered if his elbow would stand up to the test of best-of-five tennis and if he would display the rust that should come with missing six months of tennis. But after last night I’d say that neither of those things is of concern. He’s in the mix now, like Federer and Nadal, and if he can stay fit into week two, yes, he can win this title.
How Has Angie Kerber Engineered Such a Dramatic Turnaround?
Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised by how unbelievably good Angelique Kerber is playing in Melbourne. Maybe we should have known that what she proved in 2016 was inalienable proof of what she's capable of when in form—she’s a great player, a future Hall of Famer in fact, and great champions go through dark, difficult times, but they never go away. Whether we could have predicted it or not, the fact is now clear, and like Djokovic on the men’s side, Angelique Kerber is in this tournament not to be a feel-good story or to fill back pages on week one of a major. No, she’s here as a bona fide contender with a very good chance to win it all. The way she powered past Maria Sharapova last night is further proof of that fact. She schooled the Russian from start to finish, absorbing every bit of the five-time major champion’s earnest power and sending it back with interest.
Another developing angle in the Kerber story was her serve. The German dropped just four first-serve points against a legendary returner, that is more proof that the hard times of 2017 have pushed Kerber to revamp and refocus her game in such a way that might even make her a more lethal threat than she was in 2016. Wow.
Kerber is in the loaded top half of the draw that includes Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep, Madison Keys and Caroline Garcia so there are no guarantees, but it’s pretty clear that she’s back and going to be a big factor on tour in 2018 no matter how week two plays out in Melbourne.
Will Schartzman Test Nadal?
I’ve heard a lot of rumblings that Nadal has an easy draw and that he likely won’t be tested by Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman on Day 7. To those naysayers I say this: Have you watched Schwartzman over the last 52 weeks? This is the guy that defeated Marin Cilic and Lucas Pouille en route to his first major quarterfinal at last year’s U.S. Open. Yes, Nadal is the favorite and rightfully so, but Schwartzman is a cult favorite for a reason: He’s a fighter. He’s a shotmaker. And he’s an incredible mover that packs quite a bit of power in that 5’7” frame. Schwartzman is a longshot to win for sure, but we think he wins the fans over, makes some incredible gets, and grabs a set from Nadal.
Is it time for Kyrgios to Rise?
Nick Kyrgios is taking that next step. At 22 years of age, he continues to evolve as a player and as a personality. I do not believe I have ever seen him more switched on and in focus than I have this week in Melbourne (maybe Tokyo 2016), and I do believe that that focus will lead him to victory against Grigor Dimitrov on Rod Laver tonight. That’s the consensus pick and pundits are making it for a reason. Kyrgios has a distinct advantage in that he can rifle through his service games, while No.3-seeded Dimitrov seems to have lost his way on serve. Grigor has been winning ugly in Melbourne, and there’s something to be said for that, but the smart money is on Kyrgios to keep his run going in Melbourne.