2017 Australian Open: The story so far

As we approach the halfway mark of the 2017 Australian Open, let’s take a look back at what has shaped this year’s tournament and preview the second week of the first Grand Slam of the year.

It must be strange not seeing Novak Djokovic in the second week of the Australian Open, but that’s exactly what’s transpired following his shock five-set loss to Denis Istomin in the second round on Thursday.

His second-round exit marked his earliest departure from the Australian Open since 2000. Additionally, it was also his worst result at the tournament since the surfaces switched from Rebound Ace to Plexicushion prior to the 2008 tournament.

It was also his worst result at a major since Wimbledon 2008.

It also continued his recent poor run at the majors, this being his second early exit in three tournaments after losing to Sam Querrey in the third round at Wimbledon last year, on either side of losing to Stan Wawrinka in the US Open final.

Djokovic’s departure potentially opens the door for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to face off in a Grand Slam final for the first time since the 2011 French Open, and given how both men have performed at the tournament so far, belying their low seedings in the process, it is possible that it could eventuate.

Only top seed Andy Murray, who plays Mischa Zverev in his fourth round match this afternoon, could prevent it from happening. If he beats the German as expected, then he could face Federer in the quarter-finals.

The Scot has cruised through his last two matches since struggling through his opener against Illya Marchenko, conceding just fifteen games across six sets against Andrey Rublev and 31st-seeded Sam Querrey.

He has also now assumed favouritism for the Australian Open title following Novak Djokovic’s second round defeat, and will be hoping it’s sixth time lucky after five runner-up finishes since 2010, the last four to Djokovic (the other was to Federer).

Federer, for his part, plays fifth seed Kei Nishikori in what shapes as a mouth-watering match on Rod Laver Arena tonight. Any doubts as to whether he was past his use-by date have held off for now, after he demolished tenth seed Tomas Berdych in straight sets on Friday night.

His devastating performance against the Czech tenth seed followed a four-set win in his opening match against Jurgen Melzer and a straight-sets win against American qualifier Noah Rubin.

Though Nishikori is the higher-ranked of the men, Federer will fancy his chances against the former US Open finalist and if he sets up the quarter-final date against Murray, then you can bank on it being scheduled for Tuesday night.

His 2-1 record against the Scot at Melbourne Park could also prove advantageous as he seeks to return to the final for the first time since claiming the most recent of his four Australian Open titles in 2010 (won by beating Murray in the final).

Nadal, on the other hand, appears to be rediscovering the form that saw him win 14 majors as well as reign as the world’s top-ranked player as recently as July 2014.

The Spaniard’s experience told as he defeated Germany’s Alexander Zverev in a gripping five-setter on Rod Laver Arena on Saturday afternoon in what was billed as a battle of the generations.

That followed ruthless straight-sets victories over Florian Mayer and former finalist Marcos Baghdatis. Next for the King of Clay is French showman Gael Monfils, who was a straight-sets winner over Philipp Kohlschreiber in the evening.

The 30-year-old has endured a torrid period since claiming the most recent of his 14 major titles at the 2014 French Open, being plagued by injuries which have seen him lose the aura that once made him the most feared player on the planet.

Last year marked his worst season at the Grand Slams since 2004, in which he failed to reach a single quarter-final and was forced to withdraw midway through the French Open due to a wrist injury, also missing Wimbledon because of it.

But if the 2009 champion can continue his good form entering the second week of the Australian Open, then he stands as a very good chance of reaching his first final Down Under since he was upset by Stan Wawrinka in the 2014 decider.

The possibility of a first Federer versus Nadal Grand Slam final since the 2011 French Open (and first Down Under since that memorable 2009 finale) shapes as one possible conclusion to this year’s Australian Open.

The big names aside, another huge talking point to come out of the first week of the Australian Open was, unfortunately, the second round departure of Nick Kyrgios and his attitude, which has worried many commentators.

After defeating Gastao Elias rather easily in the opening round, he faced Andreas Seppi anywhere for the first time since their epic fourth-round encounter at the 2015 Australian Open, in which the Canberran came from two sets to love down to become the first local male quarter-finalist since Lleyton Hewitt in 2005.

The rematch was nearly exactly the opposite – this time, Kyrgios won the opening two sets and was seemingly in cruise control before being broken late in the third set, being docked a point in the process.

He also had a match point at 7-6 in the final set but would lose the last three games to crash to his earliest defeat at Melbourne Park since 2014, which was also the last time he lost a match from two sets up (on that occasion, he lost to Benoit Paire in his Australian Open debut).

Bernard Tomic also exited early, meaning that for the first time in three years, no Australian man has reached the second week of the tournament. This in turn means the local champion drought extends into a 41st consecutive year.

On the women’s side of things, while all the focus has been on the world’s top two, Angelique Kerber and Serena Williams, one player who seems to be flying under the radar is Sydney-born Brit Johanna Konta.

The 25-year-old, who is the sister-in-law of GWS Giants ruckman Shane Mumford, has won eight matches in a row without dropping a set since arriving Down Under, including the first five on her way to claiming the Sydney International last week.

The impressive form she showed in her city of birth has continued at Melbourne Park, with the latest win shaping as arguably her most impressive performance yet.

What was supposed to be a tough task against former world number one Caroline Wozniacki turned into a fizzer as Konta thrashed the Dane for the loss of four games in just 75 minutes.

The British number one put on an absolute clinic, hitting five times as many winners as Wozniacki (31 to six) and not facing a single break point on her serve despite being taken to deuce as she served for the match at 5-1 in the second set.

She next faces a potentially tricky fourth round match against Ekaterina Makarova, who has always reserved her best tennis for the blue courts of Melbourne Park. The left-handed Russian has reached the fourth round or better for the seventh year in a row, with her best result coming in 2015 when she reached the semi-finals.

This will be a rematch of their clash from the same stage last year, in which Konta claimed victory in an epic 14-game final set to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final and follow in the footsteps of Jo Durie, who got that far in 1983.

As Konta impressed over the last twelve months, leading to her being recognised as the WTA’s Most Improved Player, some Australian tennis fans will be pondering how they could possibly have let her become a Brit back in May 2012.

It comes as Samantha Stosur’s woes continued at Melbourne Park, the former US Open champion being defeated in the first round for the second year in a row.

Her three-set loss to Heather Watson marked her third consecutive defeat to start the new season, and her fourth in her last five matches at the Australian Open.

While Stosur flopped, comeback kid Ashleigh Barty impressed as she reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, winning her first two matches in straight sets before being defeated by Mona Barthel in three sets.

Two other young Australian stars, Destanee Aiava and Jaimee Fourlis, enjoyed contrasting debuts at Melbourne Park.

Aiava, the first male or female player born after January 1, 2000, showed signs of her potential in her first round defeat to Barthel while Fourlis gave Svetlana Kuznetsova a run for her money in a second round defeat.

As far as the bigger names are concerned, one player who appears to be making the biggest statement is six-times champion Serena Williams.

The second-seeded American called time on her 2016 season after losing to Karolina Pliskova in the semi-finals of the US Open last September, a result which saw her surrender the world number one ranking to Angelique Kerber.

But it is very clear that she is on a mission to regain the top ranking, making a mockery of two difficult matches against Belinda Bencic and Lucie Safarova, as well as beating compatriot Nicole Gibbs in straight sets, to reach the fourth round for the tenth consecutive time (she did not play in 2011 due to a foot injury).

The 35-year-old must defeat someone other than Angelique Kerber in the final if she is to again reign at the top of the women’s rankings. If the German reaches the final, she will remain number one regardless of how she does there, even if it’s against Williams.

Kerber, who followed up her victory at Melbourne Park with more glory in New York last September, struggled in her first two matches against Lesia Tsurenko and Carina Witthoeft before shaking off the cobwebs in her third round, straight-sets win over Kristyna Pliskova.

The German next faces her fourth consecutive unseeded opponent in the form of Coco Vandeweghe, after which she could face reigning French Open champion Garbine Muguruza in the quarter-finals.

Like most of the other title contenders, Muguruza has impressed in the first week at Melbourne Park, winning each of her three matches in straight sets, the most recent of which was a straight-forward victory over Anastasija Sevastova, the same player who beat her at the US Open last year.

Standing in the way of her and a first Australian Open quarter-final is the resurgent Sorana Cirstea, who this time last year was ranked 244th in the world.

While some of the bigger names are still in the tournament, there were two notable names who crashed out earlier than expected, with Simona Halep and Agnieszka Radwanska again being exposed as pretenders at Grand Slam tournaments.

Halep dropped her opening match for the second year in a row when she was upset by Shelby Rogers, while Radwanska was on the wrong end of an equally stunning upset by Croatian veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who prior to this year hadn’t won a match at Melbourne Park since 1998.

At age 34, Lucic-Baroni has now achieved her best result at the tournament and is on the verge of reaching her first Grand Slam quarter-final since Wimbledon 1999.

That’s what has unfolded so far at the 2017 Australian Open, and there is still plenty more of quality matches to come as we approach the business end of the tournament.

NOTE: At the time of writing Karolina Pliskova had yet to complete her third round match against Jelena Ostapenko.

Matches to watch on Day 7

Rod Laver Arena
Day session (starts 11:00am)
[24] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) versus [8] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)
[Q] Mona Barthel (GER) versus [13] Venus Williams (USA)
[1] Sir Andy Murray (GBR) versus Mischa Zverev (GER)

Night session (starts 7:00pm)
[17] Roger Federer (SUI) versus [5] Kei Nishikori (JPN)
[1] Angelique Kerber (GER) versus Coco Vandeweghe (USA)

Margaret Court Arena
Not before 2:00pm
[4] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) versus Andreas Seppi (ITA)
Not before 4:00pm
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) versus [7] Garbine Muguruza (ESP)

Hisense Arena
Not before 4:30pm
[12] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) versus Dan Evans (GBR)