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Two title contenders benefit as Australian Open draw opens up

(The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images )
Expert
18th January, 2018
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After more seeds fell by the wayside in the second round, the draw opens up considerably for two of the title contenders.

On the women’s side, if ever there was a draw to assist Elina Svitolina in winning her first Grand Slam, it’s this one.

She has been the main beneficiary of the seeded losses – if she can navigate her third round match against 15-year-old compatriot Marta Kostyuk, she won’t face a seeded opponent until the semi-finals.

The highest-ranked player she could face between now and the semi-finals is Elise Mertens (ranked 36), with Alize Cornet (42) another possible opponent.

Elina Svitolina

(Wikimedia Commons)

Luksika Kumkhum, who took out Venus-conqueror Belinda Bencic in Round 2, came through qualifying and has achieved her best ever result at a Grand Slam, so if she can make it to the fourth round it will be a super effort.

Johanna Konta and Garbine Muguruza’s losses have opened up what was a jam-packed top half of the draw for the women.

It means that Karolina Pliskova, who was on track to meet Konta in the fourth round, could now face countrywoman Barbora Strycova (who, it should be pointed out, is still a fine player).

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The main beneficiary of Muguruza’s loss is Agniezska Radwanska, who would have played her in the third round. Instead, Radwanska meets Su Hsieh, and then the winner of Sharapova and Kerber.

In the men’s half, Roger Federer’s difficult draw has finally opened up, David Goffin and Sam Querrey’s losses making things much easier in that half of the draw.

He will now play either Márton Fucsovics (ranked 84) or Nicolás Kicker (ranked 87) in Round 4, rather than Querrey.

Roger Federer

(Georgios Kefalas/Keystone via AP)

The draw has also opened up for Thomas Berdych or Juan Del Potro, the winner of that match to face either Julien Benneteau or Fabio Fognini in the fourth round.

Dominic Thiem, who survived a marathon five-setter against American Denis Kudla in Round 2, is the main beneficiary of Stan Wawrinka’s loss, the No.5 seed now set to face either Max Marterer (ranked 94) or Tennys Sandgren (ranked 97) in the fourth round, before a possible quarter-final clash against Djokovic.

Rafa Nadal still faces a kind draw, the world No.1 likely to face either Diego Schwartzmann or the enigmatic Alexander Dolgopolov in the fourth round, before a quarter-final against one of Marin Cilic, Ryan Harrison, Giles Muller or countryman Pablo Carreno Busta.

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If Nick Kyrgios is to make a deep run here at the Aus Open, he’ll have to do it the hard way. If he can get past Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round, he’ll likely face No.3 seed Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round.

One match to keep an eye on in the third round is the battle of the ‘Next Gen’, which sees Alex Zverev come up against Hyeon Chung.

Chung has long been touted as a star in the making, and this is his best result at a Grand Slam to date.

Chung took out fellow young gun Daniil Medvedev in the second round, and Alex’s brother Mischa in the first round, so I expect this match to be a cracker.

Another Next Gen star, Andrey Rublev, will face Dimitrov in the third round, which could also be a quality match.

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