Opinion
We are halfway through the 2020 Australian Open and there is so much to talk about as we edge closer to crowning our first grand slam champions for the new decade.
In the men’s draw, it has been business as usual for the big three Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. While the former two have breezed through the draw, the latter hit turbulence in the third round, using his get-out-of-jail card to squeeze past John Millman in five enthralling sets.
Nadal, in particular, has not faced a break point in his past two matches, and couldn’t have been more impressive in his third-round victory against compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta, with whom he led Spain to the final of the ATP Cup earlier this month.
But perhaps the Spaniard’s first serious test might come tonight, when he faces Nick Kyrgios at a major for the third time, but first outside the boundaries of the All England Club.
Kyrgios advanced to the last 16 for the third time in six years after outlasting Russian Karen Khachanov in five sets on Melbourne Arena, which is his preferred venue for his matches at the Australian Open.
At four hours and 26 minutes, it is the longest match he has been involved in since turning professional. Commentator John McEnroe was most impressed by the 24-year-old’s performance, saying that he was proud of him on Channel Nine’s Today show.
However, he will have it tough going on Rod Laver Arena, where he is winless in three attempts (following losses to Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych and Grigor Dimitrov in 2015, 2016 and 2018 respectively).
(Photo by DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images)
The Canberran has a respectable 3-4 record against Nadal, most notably defeating the 33-year-old on his Wimbledon debut in 2014 – a result that made the tennis world stand up and take notice of his talents when he is at his best.
However, Nadal won their most recent meeting at the All England Club, en route to reaching the semi-final where he was beaten by Roger Federer.
Whoever wins the highly anticipated showdown between Nadal and Kyrgios will face the winner of the match between Gael Monfils and Dominic Thiem, with the latter aiming to reach his first Australian Open quarter-final.
Monfils has done there and done that, reaching the last eight in 2016 where he was beaten by Milos Raonic.
Speaking of Raonic, the Canadian advanced to the quarter-finals for the fifth time in six years, backing up his upset victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas with an equally impressive win over former US Open champion Marin Cilic.
He will next face Novak Djokovic, who put an end to Diego Schwartzman’s tournament with a straight-sets victory and qualified for the final eight at Melbourne Park for the 12th time in 13 years, only missing out in 2018 when he lost to Hyeon Chung in the fourth round.
Away from the big three, either one of Alexander Zverev or Andrey Rublev will reach his first Australian Open quarter-final when they meet in a night match on Melbourne Arena.
While Zverev may be the higher-ranked of the pair, it’s Rublev who has been the form player of the season so far, claiming titles in Doha and Adelaide and not being beaten since November last year.
On the women’s side of things, Ashleigh Barty, Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep are among the big names that managed to dodge the upset bug that rocked Days 5 and 6 of the tournament.
For the second year in a row, Barty and Kvitova will face off in the quarter-finals, and you’d think that whoever wins will just about assume favouritism for the title.
(Mark Brake/Getty Images)
Barty again had to endure a three-setter against Alison Riske, the same woman who’d beaten her at Wimbledon last July, but this time held her nerve to gain some revenge on the American to advance to the last eight at Melbourne Park for the second year running.
Kvitova, meanwhile, had to come from a set down to defeat rising Greek star Maria Sakkari in three sets. After dropping the first set in a tiebreak, the two-time Wimbledon champion claimed the final two sets for a combined loss of five games to also progress to the last eight for the second year in a row.
It was in the corresponding match last year that Kvitova handed Barty a tennis lesson, winning in straight sets in what was the Australian’s first grand slam quarter-final.
However, a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then and Barty has beaten the Czech left-hander three times on the bounce, including in the semi-finals of last year’s WTA Finals in Shenzhen.
The other top half quarter-final will be between first-timers Ons Jabeur and Sofia Kenin, with the winner of that match to also reach her first grand slam semi-final.
Both players defeated Wang Qiang and Coco Gauff in their respective matches, with their vanquished opponents unable to repeat their stunning upset victories over Serena Williams and defending champion Naomi Osaka respectively in the previous round.
The day after Williams and Osaka departed, second seed Karolina Pliskova became the highest-seeded casualty of the tournament so far, going down in straight sets to 30th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and missing out on a shot at Angelique Kerber in the fourth round.
(Imaginechina via AP Images)
Kerber, the only former women’s champion remaining in the draw, needed three sets to overcome Italian Camila Giorgi. Now that Pliskova is out of the way, the German is now the favourite to reach the semi-final, where fourth seed Simona Halep is likely to await.
Halep has not yet dropped a set in her three matches at Melbourne Park and will start favourite to defeat Belgium’s Elise Mertens and reach another quarter-final at Melbourne Park.
The bottom half of the draw will also produce a first-time grand slam quarter-finalist, with Anett Kontaveit to start favourite to defeat Iga Swiatek and progress to a likely last eight showdown against Halep.
Fifth seed Elina Svitolina was also another notable casualty on Day 6 as she was thrashed in straight sets by dual grand slam champion and former world number one Garbine Muguruza.
The Spaniard has failed to win more than two matches in a row after Wimbledon last year, which led to her being unseeded at this year’s Australian Open. However, the form she showed against Svitolina suggests she could be a dark horse as we enter the second week.
She will face the Netherlands’ Kiki Bertens as she aims to reach her second quarter-final at Melbourne Park, after doing so in 2017.
Rod Laver Arena
Day session – play starts at 11:00am AEDT
[16] Elise Mertens (BEL) vs [4] Simona Halep (ROU)
[10] Gael Monfils (FRA) vs [5] Dominic Thiem (AUT)
Garbine Muguruza (ESP) vs [9] Kiki Bertens (NED)
Night session – play starts at 7:00pm AEDT
[1] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs [23] Nick Kyrgios (AUS)
Margaret Court Arena
Day session – not before 3:00pm AEDT
[4] Daniil Medvedev (RUS) vs [15] Stan Wawrinka (SUI)
Not before 5:00pm AEDT
[17] Angelique Kerber (GER) vs [30] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
Melbourne Arena
Day session – not before 12:30pm AEDT
[28] Anett Kontaveit (EST) vs Iga Swiatek (POL)
Night session – not before 6:30pm AEDT
[17] Andrey Rublev (RUS) vs [7] Alexander Zverev (GER)
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