The Fourth round of the Australian Open is here and the line up has some blockbuster matches. Andy Murray versus Grigor Dimitrov should be the highlight of the day while Tomas Berdych versus Bernard Tomic and Nick Krygios against Andreas Seppi are certain to get the Melbourne crowds fired up. The Tennis Review previews and predicts the four fourth round matches on day seven of the 2015 Australian Open.
Andy Murray (6) Vs Grigor Dimitrov (10).
Head to head: Murray leads 4-2
Back at Wimbledon 2014, Dimitrov beat Murray in straight sets to make his first Slam semi-final. Since then, the Bulgarian has been slumping, while Murray has been getting his game back together.
This Australian Open, Murray, a three time runner-up in Melbourne, has been in good form. He has not dropped a set. Dimitrov was impressive in his first round match, but dropped a set to Lukas Lacko, and was taken to five by Marcos Baghdatis.
Baghdatis was inspired, though, and that match will have toughened Dimitrov up. He will also have learned a lot from it, namely that he has to be aggressive and go for his shots, play the tennis that helped him crack the top ten back last August.
The kind of passive play that the Bulgarian showed in the past six months is the kind that enabled Murray to beat him 6-3, 6-3 late last year at the Paris Indoors.
Prediction: With Federer gone, Murray will be eager to take advantage of a Kyrgios/Seppi last eight meeting, and further down the line, a probable clash against Nadal. That should bring out the best in Murray, and he should win in four sets.
Tomas Berdych (7) Vs Bernard Tomic.
Head to head: Berdych leads 2-0.
Berdych’s two victories over Tomic have both come at Wimbledon and have both been in four sets.
Berdych is in some of the best form of his career. He made the Doha final and has not dropped a set so far in Melbourne. Tomic is also in good form, having made the last eight in both Brisbane and Sydney, and upsetting 22nd seed Philipp Kohlschreiber on his way to the third round.
Tomic has been to the fourth round of the Australian before, in 2012 (d. by Federer). A talented player with great hands, he can also serve big. The 22 year old has also vowed to stay away from alcohol until he wins a slam and is finally appearing to take his tennis seriously.
Berdych, though, is also reevaluating his career. He recently hired Murray’s former assistant coach Danny Vallverdu and has spoken about his dreams to win an elusive slam. The furthest he has gotten is Wimbledon 2010 when he made the final, and aged 29, he knows his opportunities are getting less and less.
This Australian Open may inspire him, too. He was within a few serves here and there of getting past Stan Wawrinka in his semi-final last year, and had he not made a few poor choices in tiebreaks, he may have been the champion against an injured Nadal. Memories of that performance might be enough to stir him on should Tomic prove to be a handful.
Prediction: Berdych is in top form and the plexicushion is great for his clean hitting game. The Czech should win this match in five sets.
Kevin Anderson (14) Vs Rafael Nadal (2)
Head to head: Nadal leads 1-0.
Kevin Anderson will have to play the match of his life against Rafael Nadal if he is to stand a chance of upsetting the number two seed and making the quarter finals of the Australian Open.
The Spaniard recovered well from his second round battle and lost only seven games in his third round match. Also, Nadal has not lost before the quarter finals of the Australian Open since 2005 (did not play 2006, 2013).
If Anderson wants to upset Nadal, he has to serve big – repeating, or even bettering his 69% first rate against Gasquet in the third round- and compile a similar 52-29 ratio of winners to unforced errors.
He would also need Nadal to play below his best, which is possible considering his recent form, and to get the match won in straight sets.
Prediction: Most likely Nadal is going to be consistent and too much of a big match player to lose this one. Nadal wins in straight sets.
Nick Kyrgios Vs Andreas Seppi
Head to head 1-0.
This is a great moment for both men. Seppi is coming off his best career win, (d. Federer), and Kyrgios is showing again what a big match player he is after making the last eight of Wimbledon and the last 32 of the U.S Open last season.
Kyrgios will have the home crowd behind him, Seppi will have the confidence of his Federer win and, aged 30, far more experience than his 19 year old opponent.
What Kyrgios has in his favor that may prove to be the difference is his game. He is a big serving shotmaker and fearless, too. In 2014, at the U.S Open, Seppi’s solid baseline game could not match up to the firepower of the Australian.
Seppi would need to stay with Kyrgios deep into every set and use his experience to take advantage should the Australian’s performance drop.
Prediction: Kyrgios has the game and the home support to take this in four sets.
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