The Grandstand’s Ricky Dimon and Jared Pine of The Second Serb preview and pick the best men’s singles matchups on Day 2 of the Australian Open. This is the second of 13 installments of expert picks during the season’s first Grand Slam.
(24) Andreas Seppi vs. Lleyton Hewitt
Ricky: A potential fourth-rounder against Rafael Nadal is not great news for Hewitt, but the 32-year-old Aussie could not have asked for much more than Seppi being his nearest seed and Kei Nishikori (whom Hewitt just beat in Brisbane) being his second nearest seed. It’s clear the former world No. 1 still has gas left in the tank, as he reached the fourth round of the 2013 U.S. Open and won Brisbane earlier this month. This isn’t a great matchup for Seppi, who thrives on beating far more erratic opponents than Hewitt by simply keeping balls in play. Hewitt 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Jared: This one has five sets written all over it. Of Hewitt’s last 11 Grand Slam matches, four went five sets and five of them were four sets. Seppi has played 11 five-setters in his last 19 completed slam matches. Also last year he had a five-set match in Davis Cup. The two players’ head-to-head record is tied at three, so this won’t be a blowout either way. Although they have never played a best-of-five match, each of their first three encounters were determined in a deciding set. I give Hewitt the slight edge because he always brings his best tennis when he plays in front of his home crowd. Hewitt 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 8-6.
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(27) Benoit Paire vs. (Q) Frank Dancevic
Ricky: The mercurial Paire used to intersperse his uninterested performances with bouts of invigoration. Now he just seems consistently blasé. Dating back to last year, the Frenchman has suffered four bad losses in his last four tournaments–three of those have unquestionably featured borderline tanking. Dancevic, on the other hand, is a pure fighter through and through. The Canadian owns a big serve and one-handed backhand and he has to be confident having come through qualifying. Dancevic 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.
Jared: This will be the first meeting between the two players. Dancevic did a great job getting through qualifying to earn a spot in the main draw, but he is running into a very talented player in Paire. However, Paire’s talent hasn’t always translated into wins. He has already lost two matches to lower-ranked players this year, including a crazy three-set loss to Marcel Granollers in Chennai. Paire has the ability to dig deep and beat opponents he should in the majors. I think he will cool off Dancevic and advance to the second round. Paire 6-2, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.
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(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Bernard Tomic
Ricky: Tomic has posted some decent results in the relative early stages of his career, including a run to the 2011 Wimbledon quarterfinals. That being said, it’s obvious he is not ready for the elite. Tomic is 0-10 lifetime against Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray and he is 2-25 in total sets against those four players. Nadal generally takes a while to reach peak form in tournaments, so the underdog may win his fair share of games. But if this one is being massively hyped, it’s not because it’s going to be competitive. Nadal 6-2, 7-5, 6-3.
Jared: The only other meeting between this pair was in Melbourne in 2011, which Nadal won in straight sets. It will be interesting to see how far Tomic has come along in the last three years. History has shown that Nadal is most vulnerable early in the slams. He dropped a few sets in early matches at Roland Garros last year and lost in the first round at Wimbledon. However, I still think Nadal is just too good for the young Australian. Nadal 7-6, 6-2, 6-4.
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Tobias Kamke vs. Jack Sock
Ricky: Kamke and Sock just faced each other last fall in Basel qualifying, with Kamke destroying the American 6-0, 6-4. Sock should be in line to fare much better this time around, as he is coming off a quarterfinal performance in Auckland. However, it’s hard to see him completely turning the tables after such a comprehensive beatdown. Kamke advanced one round in Doha and then took a set off Nadal. The 78th-ranked German has reached the second round in three of the last four Grand Slams, so he knows what he is doing in three-out-of-five matches. Kamke 6-7(5), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Jared: This is a big match for the 21-year old Sock. The Australian Open is the only remaining slam in which he hasn’t won a match. In fact, he hasn’t even won a qualifying match. Against Kamke, the American has an opportunity to turn around his struggles in Melbourne. He had a big win over Tommy Haas last week, so he has plenty of momentum going into this one. Sock has a big serve and forehand, so if he can keep the points short, he will get the win. Sock 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.
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Vamos Rafa!
who’s everyone got?
I have Hewitt to beat Seppi in four sets. I have no idea about Paire and Dancevic. I think Kamke will beat Sock in four or five sets. I am trying to remember what I voted for in the polls!
Obviously, Rafa in three sets over Tomic. 🙂
obviously
Hewitt in three, Paire in three, Kamke in five, Rafa in four (only because it’s his first round match and it’s being played on a ridiculously fast court – which means low bounce BTW).
#YoureWelcome
#Humb1e
Paire in 3?????????
Hells yeah.
Frank’s a good guy but I’ve followed my fellow Canuck for some time and I just think, as flaky as Paire is,he’s outta his league.
Hope I’m wrong.
I hope you don’t compare Dancevic to Raonic, do YOU???
As always, we will see, no?
Paire has only won a grand slam match in straight sets four times. He’s not much of a fighter, so if he falls behind in a set, he will just tank it.
Nobody is giving Seppi any love. Only three votes? He did beat Hewitt in straight sets just a couple months ago in Shanghai. Seppi didn’t look so good last week, but I didn’t expect Hewitt to be such a heavy favorite. This is going to be a battle for him.
Hewitt seems to love playing 5-setters at the Aussie Open
on paper, though, I see this one as Hewitt BIG
https://twitter.com/tennistweets/statuses/422867740924190721
I am with Ricky regarding Hewitt. It’s not about disrespecting Seppi. It’s just about calling it as we see it. Hewitt just beat Fed to win a title and seems to be playing some solid tennis. We know that he seems to thrive on playing in front of his countrymen.
I know Paire, but don’t know Dancevic. I just know that Paire can be flaky. That’s why I didn’t make a pick. I really have no idea.
Cute tweet about Tomic vs. Rafa!
RT @TennisChannel: “Stepanek retires from his match against Kavcic after being up 7-6, 6-4, 1-6, 0-2”
#SpendTimeWithPetra
RT @Mike_Dickson_DM: “The heat starts to take its toll on players. On men’s side Dancevic goes down for a minute, on women’s Peng is battling thru getting sick.”
#Brutal
RT @alex_willis: “Fifth (I think) retirement/withdrawal of the day as Julian Reister calls time against Thomaz Bellucci. #ausopen”
Del Potro just lost the first set
The brutal heat could produce some surprise winners.
from now through Friday there are going to be some BIZARRE results
Holy cow. Williams has taken the first set off of Del Potro.
Williams was on fee in that tiebreaker
Hewitt is down two sets to Seppi. There goes that prediction. Players are dropping like flies.
I checked in at one point to see Delpo lose the first set to Williams! Wow!
RT @SteveTignor: “Bernard Tomic says the heat “goes to my advantage” against Nadal. #AusOpen”
Someone please tell this upstart they do not award points for pre-match trash-talking……
#DoItOnCourt
Hewitt won the third set. Now 1-1 in the fourth set.
Murray is now on the court. They started showing his match, but then switched back to Hewitt.
I can’t wait for Rafa!
Muzz looking good
Snap!
Courts may be fast but Muzza’s constructing some beautiful points with some long-ish rally build-up against Soeda. Looks like he has already settled.
RT @juanjosetennis: “Rhyne Williams just got screwed by Carlos Bernardes. That was a pretty blatant double bounce on Delpo. Rhyne is not happy with Bernardes or with Delpo – the player who hits the double bounce usually calls that on himself.”
Sooooo, that was hypothetically William’s point but technically Delpo’s? Got it.
#Soundsfamiliar?
well said!
Hewitt and Seppi going to a 5th set.
sky is blue
For anyone who didn’t hear the commentators say it or don’t already know, all matches are available on the ESPN3 website..
Thanks so much for the reminder. Since the Hewitt/Seppi match is going the distance, the commentators said that will delay the start of Rafa’s match because it takes 45 minutes to move the day crowd out and the night crowd in.
Murray wins in a rout. 6/1 6/1 6/3.
So good to see Andy moving and playing with such freedom 🙂 Thank goodness he’s got his length back too!
Let’s Go Andy!
he looked very good
Delpo wins 6/7 6/3 6/4 6/4.,
very good match. Delpo was good, but will have to pick it up bigtime in order to beat Rafa.
Cheers re Andy Rick 🙂
I was thinking the same thing. The way he played tonight won’t get him a win against Rafa. He seemed to be really bothered by the heat.
he also won’t be given many dink slice backhands in the middle of the court by Rafa like he was by Williams
He only has to survive this week’s furnace, next week’s forecast to be cooler.
Hewitt breaks back!!! 5 all in the 5th. The guy won’t quit.
HEWITT