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Can Marinko Matosevic repeat his 2014 Brisbane International form and make the quarter finals again this year? Find out as The Roar live blogs his match against Steve Johnson from around 1:00pm (AEDT).
Last year Matosevic won his first ever match in Australia at the ATP level in Brisbane as he made the quarter finals of the event.
In 2015, as he returns to the event, looking to repeat the feat. He starts his campaign against Steve Johnson, who had a stellar 2014.
The American, who is 37 in the world, rose 120 spots last year to crack the top 100 for the first time. In the season he won two Challengers – in Dallas and Le Gosier – and made the semi-finals at the ATP event in Delray Beach.
For Marinko it was a year of consolidation. For the third year in a row the Victorian finished inside the top 100.
He also won for the first time in Australia and broke the Grand Slam hoodoo.
In one of the highlights of 2014 his celebration after his win at the French Open will never be forgotten.
After beating Dustin Brown in four sets, Matosevic fell to the ground, and barrel rolled over the clay in celebration and relief.
He continued the success at Grand Slam level at Wimbledon with an impressive win over Fernando Verdasco.
At the ATP level Matosevic made six quarter finals during the year. He also made the Challenger final at Nottingham as he finished the year at 77 in the world.
Heading into this match Johnson leads the head to head 1-0. He defeated Matosevic at the Los Angeles Open in 2010 in three sets.
I expect a similar contest today with both players evenly matched.
Marinko is the slight favourite with the bookies but that is based on the Australian at home factor.
I see this as a 50/50 match. Johnson is every chance of beating Matosevic and he will if the Australian isn’t consistent today.
That has been a problem for Matosevic in a lot of matches. In some sets he will play well and look unbeatable.
In other sets he will lose his head and make plenty of errors. Johnson will take advantage of that if Matosevic loses his focus.
The serve is also a big focus for him. If that is on song today then he will be tough to beat.
While it may not be the best looking serve in the tour, it is effective when it is done well. Johnson on the other hand is a very accomplished player from the college scene.
In 2011 and 2012 he won the NCAA singles championship in his junior and senior year. He is one of only four players in college history to achieve that feat.
Johnson, who turned pro in 2012, is starting to find his feet on the tour. His strength is his serve and his forehand. Those two areas will be his big focus in the match.
As mentioned before this match is evenly split. Anyone can win this match. The start will be extremely important and the home crowd will be vital for a Matosevic win.
Last year he thrived off the crowd to beat Julien Benneteau and Sam Querrey on his way to the quarters.
They will need to do it again for him to win.
I’m going to predict Matosevic to win in three sets but it would not surprise me if Johnson comes to play today.
He will be someone to look out for over the Australian summer. Matosevic will need to be good today to win.
Prediction: Matosevic in 3 close sets.
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