Day 2 of the Australian Open sees Kei Nishikori and Nicolas Amalgro square off in the day’s most interesting match. The tennis review predicts the winner and looks at two other compelling contests.
Kei Nishikori Vs Nicolas Amalgro
Head to head: 1-1
Kei Nishikori will play his first slam as a big favorite and he will open up against one of the most dangerous floaters in the draw, the former top ten player Nicolas Amalgro.
The two are tied at 1-1 in their head to head with both matches played on hard courts and going the distance over a best of three.
Their last encounter was in 2013 when Amalgro was ranked in the top 20. Since injury he has fallen to No. 69 and played his first match in Sydney last week since Roland Garros ’14. He lost that Sydney match t0 world No. 29 Pablo Cuevas.
Meanwhile,in that same period, Nishikori rose to five in the world and became a Grand Slam runner up in New York. Nishikori is also in good form this season after making the Brisbane Semis where he narrowly lost to Milos Raonic.
Prediction: Amalgro will certainly test Nishikori, especially if his serve is on. But the Japanese has too much momentum right now and while he may be stirred, he will not be shaken. Nishikori to win in straight sets.
Sam Querrey Vs Vasek Pospisil
Head to head: Querrey leads 1-0
Sam Querrey, ranked 35, just missed the seedings after winning three challengers last last year, and is also unlucky to come up against Vasek Pospisil, ranked 60 but with top 20 potential, in the first round
This match will be decided by the serve as both men, 198cm and 193cm respectively, fire down aces and huge first serves, a shot that is the leading weapon in their arsenal. When not serving winners, they will look to move into the court off short returns and finish points early on their forehand sides.
Querrey is the bigger server of the two, while Pospisil has more skills from the back of the court and greater touch at the net. Expect service games to go by quickly and for sets to be close in this match tailor made for those who enjoy watching attacking tennis.
Neither man is in great form. Pospisil has not won two consecutive matches since late last July when he made the Washington final. Querrey, on the other hand, may be match tough after winning three back to back challenger titles last autumn, however that run tells us little about his chances at slam level- he did not come up against anyone as tough as Pospisil will prove to be.
This season, Pospisil is 1-1, while Querrey is 0-2 and did not win a set against Chardy or Tomic in those two matches.
Prediction: Querrey took their 2012 Wimbledon match in four sets. This time, expect Pospisil to reverse that result and win this one in four.
Dominic Thiem Vs Roberto Bautista-Agut (13)
Head to Head: 0-0
Dominic Thiem, ranked 40, made the fourth round of a slam for the first time at last year’s U.S Open. Since then, however, he has gone 2-6, including a loss last week in Auckland to 54th ranked Struff. Illness in the off season and a stint in the army will not have helped Thiem’s preparations for the year’s first slam either.
Nor will coming up against Bautista Agut in the first round in Melbourne. The 13th seed made the fourth round last year after ousting del Potro.
However, the Spaniard is also out of sorts. He let four match points slip in his semi-final loss to Aljaz Bedene in Chennai and then retired in his opening match in Auckland. Those losses will have dented his confidence and if he is still suffering at all then someone as talented and hungry as Thiem may be too much for him to handle in the first round in Melbourne.
Prediction: Thiem’s greater variety should prove to be the difference in what could prove to be a messy yet captivating contest.
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