By Chris Oddo | Thursday January 17, 2019
Four days of Aussie Open madness have left us here, perched on the precipice of the third round. Draws have been whittled down and we will start to see some premium matchups as we head into the first weekend of the tournament. Now is a good time to take stock of what we’ve seen in the first four days and look ahead to some popcorn at the business end of both singles draws.
Super Tiebreakers Are Fun!
Great Britain’s Katie Boulter won the first ever super tiebreaker played in a singles match at a Slam, and after that we saw Jeremy Chardy win the first played in a men’s match. But we didn’t get the dramatic effect of the new wrinkle until Day 4, when Kei Nishikori and Ivo Karlovic battled it out on Margaret Court Arena. This was the type of match that the super tiebreaker was made for: A big server like Karlovic, who theoretically could have gone on holding serve for the next 74 games or whatever.
And here’s something funny about the result: I’ve always believed that the shortened fifth sets favor big servers at Slams because they are the players who would typically go on forever without being able to engineer a break. But it was the big server who went down on Day 4. And it actually helps Nishikori because he was able to finish the match in well under four hours and now he might have something left for his next few matches. So well done Aussie Open.
The Mauresmo Effect?
Amelie Mauresmo starts working with a player that had lost all five of his previous main draw matches at the Australian Open. And suddenly that player, aka Lucas Pouille, is into the third round and will face Alex Popyrin (who?) for a spot in the second week. Whether there is a huge direct correlation between Pouille’s much-publicized coaching change and his sudden ability to win in Australia, there’s no denying the fact that the synergy appears to be good.
Medvedev: Rising Force
One player who is very much under the radar in 2019 (there are more, but we’re mentioning this one) is Russia’s Daniil Medvedev. The 22-year-old has been growing in confidence and honestly looks ready to build on his brilliant 2018 season. Medvedev won three titles in 2018, but he has yet to replicate that success at the majors, where he has never reached the second week. He’ll face David Goffin in the third round on Saturday and we would not be surprised if he makes that breakthrough.
Medvedev hit 32 winners against 7 unforced errors in his thumping of Ryan Harrison on Day 4—this is an athlete that is truly coming into his own.
Yastremska: BIG GAME
If you’re not familiar with Dayana Yastremska’s game yet, don’t worry, you will be when she faces Serena Williams in the third round down under. The Ukrainian has made an incredible push up the rankings in the last six months and after upsetting Carla Suarez Navarro on Day 4 she is assured of a Top 50 ranking debut.
Yastremska is far from experienced, and she’s not quite a savvy technician at this juncture of her career, but what stands out is her raw athleticism. She is mechanically sound, extremely athletic, and with good size. She can be extremely wild at times but when she is connecting it is a sight to behold. She’ll have her moments against Williams on Saturday, for sure.
Nadal vs the Demon
Perhaps the most important matchup of the third round will take place between Rafael Nadal and Alex de Minaur. Will be blunt. It is absolutely imperative that Nadal stay out of these long, protracted physical battles that leave him weary in the later rounds. The question is: is there a way to avoid a long, protracted battle with de Minaur. The Aussie is on fire, coming of age, and is the fastest player on the tour. Nadal does not want to make their contest a physical battle, and it will be extremely important that he implements and executes the right gameplan to keep the Aussie at bay.
Nadal may have received some good news when Kevin Anderson fell out of his quarter of the draw, but his next two matches could be potentially very difficult and for him to have a shot at the title in Melbourne, he’ll need not just to win, but to win efficiently.
You Heard it Here First, There Will be a New No.1 on the WTA Side
Simona Halep will have owned the fourth-longest reign at No.1 in WTA history after the Australian Open, but it is starting to feel like it will end there. The Romanian has gutted out two victories in three sets to reach the third round, but she struggled with a hamstring issue on Day 4 and really doesn’t look to be firing on all cylinders.
Meanwhile, Petra Kvitova, Naomi Osaka and Sloane Stephens are all closing in on her. If Halep loses in the third round to Venus Williams all three of those aforementioned players would pass her by reaching the quarterfinals. Stephens (Petra Martic followed by Sasnovich / Pavlyuchenkova winner) and Osaka (Hsieh, followed by Wang / Sevastova winner) each have pretty decent routes to the quarters. If we were a betting outfit, we’d go with Stephens. But don’t rule out Kerber from left field.