Day 3 of the Australian Open sees some attractive matches down under. The tennis review previews four of the second matches on offer and predicts the winners.
Philipp Kohlschreiber (22) Vs Barnard Tomic
Head to head: 1-1
Tomic beat Kohlschrieber last week in Sydney 6-3, 6-4. His home country brings out the best for him and plexicushion is great for his game.
Kohlscreiber has been to the fourth round in Melbourne three times in nine attempts and enjoys the time the medium slow court gives him to set up his big strokes. In his first round match this year he dropped just five games against Matthieu and hit 18 winners to just 2 errors.
He has the weight of shot to hit through Tomic but even if he is playing his best he will not be able to sustain it for three consecutive sets. Tomic will work his way into the match and has too much touch, guile and variety for Kohlschreiber in these conditions. He has also had a good work out in the first round after Kamke took him to four sets and will be ready for a scrap.
Prediction: Tomic to win in four sets.
Nick Kyrgios Vs Ivo Karlovic (23)
Head to head 0-0
Ivo Karlovic is coming off a big win over world No.1 Novak Djokovic in Doha a couple of weeks ago. The game’s biggest serve then took eventual champion David Ferrer to a third set breaker in the semis.
Melbourne, though, has not been a happy hunting ground for Karlovic- he is 9-11 there. The surface does not reward his serve as well as it rewards his opponent’s returns and with his biggest weapon somewhat blunt he is vulnerable to an upset.
That could come at the hands of a talented shotmaker like Kyrgios in front of his home crowd. Kyrgios has a big enough serve to hold onto his service games comfortably and can then work on taking advantage of any dips in serving performance from his opponent by ripping some returns and ending rallies with huge winners as he did back in Wimbledon and the U.S Open last year.
Kyrgios likes the big stage and he worked the home support in his five set win over Delbonis. That win will have toughened him up for Karlovic who was not pushed in his straight sets opening win.
Prediction: Karlovic is in good form but his big stage loving opponent has the home crowd behind him and the shots to cause an upset. Kyrgios to win in five sets.
Marcos Baghdatis Vs David Goffin (20)
Head to head: Baghdatis leads 1-0
Baghdatis is still working his magic in slams as he won a five set match in his first round. He will need it in his second round against the talented Goffin.
This is a match between two of the biggest talents of the last decade in the game. Baghdatis’ talent took him all the way to the Melbourne final in 2006 and the tennis world is eager to see if Goffin’s talent can take him further.
Baghdatis’ talent lies in his shot making while Goffin’s is in his flair and touch. Creativity is a strength for both and they could bring out the best in each other in what might be the match of the second round.
Goffin is on an upward trajectory, ending last year on a high with a runner up showing in Basel and breaking into the world’s top 25. Baghdatis, ranked 79, meanwhile, has been on a downslide for a few years with injuries but pops up now and then to remind us just how attractive his game is to watch.
Coming into the event, Baghdatis got some matches under his belt as he made his way to the Happy Valley challenger final. His loss to world No. 193 Ryan Harrison was not encouraging though. Goffin, meanwhile, was a semi-finalist in Chennai before losing in the first round of Sydney. He looked good against Russel too in his first round here, winning the fourth set to love.
Prediction: A tough one to call, but Goffin has been in better form of late and things seem to be going right for him. The Belgian should win in four sets, with a couple of them being exceptionally tough.
Viktor Troicki Vs Leonardo Mayer (26)
Head to head 0-0
Troicki is the recent Sydney winner and seems inspired of late. In his first round match he beat Auckland champion Jiri Vesely in four sets in arguably the toughest first round match of the event.
He will face a tough opponent in Mayer, too. Mayer jumped from 95 at the end of 2013 to 28 at the end of 2014 and is continuing that form in 2015. In Doha this year he lost to Seppi in a final set tiebreaker and then beat Becker, Janowicz and Benneteau on his way to the Sydney semis. In his first round match on Monday he blasted 41 winners (to 39 errors) in his straight sets win over Millman.
Mayer plays his best tennis on clay, and this match, which will be played early in the day, scheduled as the second match on court 8, will be played in the heat of the day which will make the courts faster. That should play into the more versatile Troicki’s hands.
Prediction: The conditions favor him and he is in inspired form. Troicki to win in four sets.
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