By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday January 21, 2024
Can Miomir push Carlos Alcaraz like he did the last time they played? It's one of our burning questions ahead of Day 9 in Melbourne.
Photo Source: Getty
The last of the fourth-round matches will be played on Monday in Melbourne, settling the quarterfinal matchups in the top half of the women’s draw and the bottom half of the men’s draw.
Here’s what we’ll be keeping tabs on…
Noskova’s Encore?
19-year-old Czech Linda Noskova was absolutely phenomenal in the third round as she stunned World No.1 Iga Swiatek with a high-octane performance that saw her smack 35 winners past the Polish juggernaut. We knew Noskova was talented, but the power and poise she put on display on Day 7 was above and beyond what we expected from her at this stage of her development.
On Monday in Melbourne we’ll see what she can do for an encore as she takes on the gritty, talented Elina Svitolina for a spot in the quarterfinals. Svitolina has breezed through three rounds, dropping just 13 games in the process, and the No.19 seed has put herself in position to make another deep run at the majors to go with her trip to the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros last year, as well as her emotional semifinal run at Wimbledon last summer.
Svitolina and Noskova have never met before.
Alcaraz Kecmanovic “War”
The last time Carlos Alcaraz and Miomir Kecmanovic met they battled to the brink of exhaustion, with Alcaraz coming through with a hard-fought 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(5) victory in Miami. In that match Alcaraz faced a 15-30 deficit while serving at 4-5 in the final set but came through.
No.2-seeded Alcaraz will have to be on his game to get past the unseeded Serbian when the meet on Monday in the round of 16, and he knows it.
“I remember that match in 2022 in Miami. He played an unbelievable game. Myself as well,” Alcaraz said. “I think it's going to be the same war. He has beaten big guys here in this tournament, so I have to be prepared to do war again.”
If there is an advantage to be had it is the fact that Kecmanovic has expended a lot of energy getting his far in the draw. He saved a pair of match points in each of his last two matches, and has played 14 of a possible 15 sets in three rounds. That’s a lot of wear and tear, both mentally and physically.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz was off the court in just over an hour yesterday, as his opponent retired early in the third due to injury.
Upset Alert in the Top Half?
With China’s Zheng Qinwen the highest-seeded player left in the top half of the women’s draw, we are guaranteed a surprise finalist from this half. Will it be Zheng, Svitolina or two-time champion Victoria Azarenka, the only three players inside the Top 20 remaining, or will it be someone from out of the blue like Noskova, France’s Oceane Dodin, Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska or Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya?
All eyes will be on Monday’s tilts, in the hunt for a true favorite from this section.