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If Denis Istomin’s defeat of Novak Djokovic in the second round opened the field at the Australian Open, Mischa Zverev’s unexpected win over top-seed Andy Murray is surely the equivalent of throwing a hand grenade into the men’s draw.
Murray was seeking to break his Melbourne Park hoodoo of five times runner up and with the exit of his Melbourne Park nemesis, Djokovic, he stood to have his best chance yet of lifting the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup above his head.
That of course was all until yesterday when 29-year-old German Mischa Zverev played the match of his life, sending the number one seed packing.
The men’s draw has now been opened to the possibility of Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal adding another Grand Slam to their already bulging trophy cabinets – or a first time winner of a major.
Prior to today’s shock result, Murray’s side of the draw was already throwing up an interesting fourth round clash between Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori as well as some potentially interesting Quarterfinal match-ups.
Federer and Nishikori’s fourth-round match last night see-sawed into a fifth set before Federer, the 17th seed, came out the victor in the fifth set.
It seems breaks of serve was the main dish on the menu and by the final set it was a decidedly fitter and even younger looking Federer who battled it out against the injury-prone Nishikori.
So, where to from here with the men’s draw?
The survivors heading into the quarters are yesterday’s man of the moment, Zverev who will take on Federer and in the other quarterfinal number four seed, Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka will meet France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, seeded 12.
The problem with betting against Wawrinka in a Grand Slam is that the man just loves the big stage a Grand Slam has to offer.
Don’t forget Wawrinka has as many Grand Slam titles as Andy Murray.
Of course the other problem with betting for Wawrinka is that you just never know which Wawrinka will take to the court.
I tend to buy into the popular narrative of Wawrinka’s fragile mental capacity on the tennis court. I am at my core just a hopeless romantic who loves the idea that tennis is as much a mental battle as a physical one.
On the other hand there are those who see Wawrinka less as an emotional head case and more as someone who doesn’t always try as hard as he should.
Either way, Wawrinka could easily add another Grand Slam trophy to his collection or he could be on a plane home by the middle of the week.
On the other side of the draw, there are fewer of the household names left that casual observers of tennis will be familiar with.
The two key contenders on what was Djokovic’s side of the draw are ninth seed, Rafael Nadal and Canada’s Milos Raonic, the tournament’s third seed.
The big serving Canadian is battling a cold and as things are panning out he may be battling a curse of the top seeds. He’s now the highest seeded man left in the draw.
As we slowly inch our way to Sunday’s final, tennis fans could be treated to an all Swiss Semifinal in the top half of the draw if Federer defeats Zverev and Wawrinka takes out Tsonga.
Even more interesting is the possibility of a Federer and Nadal final, which would be the ultimate in turning back the tennis clock.
There are only three men left in the draw who have won a Grand Slam: Federer, Nadal and Wawrinka.
The potential for a debutant Grand Slam winner is tantalisingly close at the first Slam of the year. Could this be a sign of what is to come in 2017?
This year’s Australian Open has also reminded us that seedings are just numbers and what counts is the action as it unfolds on court. There are no such things as a sure bet in Grand Slam tennis, where everyone is hungry to stay on the biggest stage tennis has to offer.
What will be interesting for the likes of Federer and Nadal moving forward is how well they recover from playing five set matches.
To see these old foes battle it out in the final of a Grand Slam one last time would be a dream come true for many tennis fans.
But for that to happen they need to overcome younger men who stand in their way, hungry for Grand Slam glory.
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