When these halves of the draws played on Friday, high drama ensued. Ons Jabeur sent Caroline Wozniacki into retirement. Qiang Wang pulled of a huge upset over Serena Williams. Marin Cilic outlasted Roberto Bautista Agut in an exhausting five-setter. Milos Raonic sent a message that he’s back by ousting Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets. And Roger Federer narrowly avoided exiting the tournament by taking the last six points from John Millman in a fifth set tiebreak. What’s in store as Friday’s winners return to the court today?
Ash Barty (1) vs. Alison Riske (18)
Embed from Getty Images
This is a rematch from Wimbledon six months ago, where the 29-year-old American ended the French Open champion’s 15-match winning streak with a three-set victory. Riske has taken her career to another level since getting married last year, and recently enter the top 20 for the first time. She’s has a great serve, and beat another great server in Julia Goerges on Friday. Ali historically excelled on grass, but has now transferred that success over to hard courts. Ash Barty has been under enormous pressure as the No.1 player in the world at her home Slam. Thus far she’s handled it very well, and seems rather relaxed on court. Since a slight hiccup in her opening round match against Lesia Tsurenko, where she dropped the first set, she’s now comfortably won her last six. However, this will be Barty’s first true test, as Riske will definitely be aggressive and force Barty to feel more pressure. But with the courts in Melbourne playing a bit slower this year, Barty’s defense and variety should be enough to get her through this challenging opponent.
Sofia Kenin (14) vs. Coco Gauff
Embed from Getty Images
Coming off her big upset of Naomi Osaka two days ago, is Coco ready to back that win up? I don’t see Kenin making matters as easy for Coco as Osaka did. Naomi played a terrible match, and Gauff smartly just remained solid and allowed Osaka to self-destruct. Kenin has quickly become one of the strongest competitors on tour, and will make Gauff hit a lot more balls. Sofia is another American who has quickly risen up the ranks. The 21-year-old started 2019 outside the top 50, but is now on the verge of cracking the top 10. She garnered 49 match wins last season, with three titles. But this is also a huge match for Kenin. Like Coco, she is vying to reach her first Major quarterfinal. Sofia is yet to drop a through three rounds, and I think she’ll prove to be too much for Gauff today. Kenin’s all-around game is a bit more developed than Coco’s, and her experience edge will be crucial.
Milos Raonic (32) vs. Marin Cilic
Embed from Getty Images
Cilic leads their head-to-head 2-1, though they haven’t met since 2017, and never at a Major. Raonic has just streamrolled his way through the draw, yet to drop a set. By contrast, Cilic is coming off back-to-back five-setters. He needed a fifth set tiebreak against Benoit Paire on Wednesday, and went over four hours against Roberto Bautista Agut on Friday. He’s already spent over nine hours on court, compared to only five-and-a-half for Raonic. A fresh Milos, who’s serve has been stellar, should be favored to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals for the fifth time in six years.
Novak Djokovic (2) vs. Diego Schwartzman (14)
Embed from Getty Images
Djokovic destroyed an opponent of similar size to Diego in the third round, requiring only 85 minutes against Yoshihito Nishioka. But Schwartzman is a more much accomplished player, with great fight. And while he’s 0-3 against Novak, their last two matches on clay have been extremely competitive. Schwartzman pushed Djokovic to five sets at Roland Garros three years ago. He also went to a final set with Novak last year in Rome. And the Argentine can also go on hard courts. Diego reached the quarterfinals of the US Open in two of the last three years. I expect him to test Djokovic again today, and wouldn’t be surprised to see him claim a set or two. But Djokovic has looked extremely sharp to star the season, and he just has too much game for Diego to claim three sets. Novak should advance to his 11 quarterfinal in Melbourne.
Petra Kvitova (7) vs. Maria Sakkari (22)
Embed from Getty Images
Except for the one relatively warm day thus far, Kvitova has played exceptionally well. On the days featuring cooler conditions, she’s dropped just four games in four sets. Unfortunately for Sakkari, temperatures are forecast to stay rather comfortable today. However, the 24-year-old from Greece is 2-1 lifetime against Kvitova. All three matches took place last year, and they split their two hard court meetings. Sakkari is coming off the best year of her career, and is projected to debut inside the top 20 with this run to her first round of 16 at a Major. She possesses enough speed and defensive skills to make Kvitova’s day difficult. But based on the way Petra has been striking the ball, I like last year’s finalist to hit her way through this one.
Other notable matches on Day 7:
- Roger Federer (3) vs. Marton Fucsovics. What will Federer have left after his four-hour match that went late into the night two days ago? These two met in the same round here in 2018, with Federer prevailing in straights.
- Qiang Wang (27) vs. One Jabeur, who is into the fourth round of a Major for the first time. Wang is 2-0 against Jabeur, which includes a match two weeks ago in Shenzhen. In four sets played, Jabeur has won just seven games.
- Fabio Fognini (12), who already escaped two fifth set tiebreaks this fortnight, vs. Tennys Sandgren, who was a quarterfinalist here two years ago. As Ben Rothenberg highlighted in Twitter, the last time these two met, Fognini got so frustrated he suggested The All England Club should be bombed. Sandgren won that match in straight sets, though Fabio claimed their other two previous meetings.
Order of play (time in GMT)
Rod Laver Arena
From 00:00am
J. McEnroe/P. McEnroe v T. Muster/M. Wilander (Legends)
Not before 1:00am
M. Sakkari (22) v P. Kvitova (7)
Not before 3:00am
D. Schwartzman (14) v N. Djokovic (2)
From 8:00am
A. Barty (1) v A. Riske (18)
M. Fucsovics v R. Federer (3)
Margaret Court Arena
From 00:00am
S. Hsieh (1)/B. Strycova (1) v D. Jurak/N. Stojanovic
Not before 2:00am
M. Raonic (32) v M. Cilic
O. Jabeur v Q. Wang (27)
B. Bryan (13)/M. Bryan (13) v J. Cabal/J. Munar
Melbourne Arena
From 00:00am
T. Haas/M. Philippoussis v J. Bjorkman/T. Johansson (Legends)
Not before 1:30am
A. Bublik/M. Kukushkin v S. Johnson/S. Querrey
Not before 3:30am
C. Gauff v S. Kenin (14)
T. Sandgren v F. Fognini (12)
