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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ooops…4 all in the 5th
hahaha I love that on the toss he re-did. “Sorry mate.”
yep he and Rafter (playing doubles together tomorrow) both always do it
I love Drysdale’s reactions to some of the shots.
haha yeah he is going crazy
“OH. OHHHHH.”
GSM Seppi…
Interesting interview with Seppi. Who knew that German is his first language.
RT @NeilHarmanTimes: “We’re all going to have to walk home tonight. MC Craig Willis informs that the tram lines have buckled in heat. And it’s uphill :((“
Monfils won the first set against Harrison 6-4.
They didn’t show much of Murray’s match because it wasn’t that competitive and the Hewitt/Seppi match was such a thriller. I did see a little of it in the beginning and at the end and Murray looked good.
I watched a bit of it on ESPN3 but watched others that were more interesting. It was such a rout that the only other part of it I watched was when ESPN2 switched to it.
@NNY
Can u not get “Livehunter”? Not that I feel u should be obliged to watch Andy of course lol, but it gives u the choice of all the matches.
deucy,
As Jpacnw reminded me earlier, we do have the option of watching the live matches online at ESPN3. I could have watched it online, but I was focused on the Hewitt/Seppi match. I will try to check out his second round match and hopefully get a better look at him. From the little I did see, it was really no contest.
I enjoy watching Andy. I am really looking forward to catching some of his matches. I don’t know how it is with you overseas, but we have ESPN2 and also the tennis channel with repeats during the day and sometimes taking over the way they did earlier tonight when ESPN2 had commitments to other sports. Then there is ESPN3 online. It’s not my favorite way to watch a match, but for the early rounds when they jump around all over the place, it’s the best option.
Tomic is hurt.
Isn’t this the point haters scream, “he is taking an MTO to disrupt Rafa’s rhythm!”
Sorry forgot……….shoe’s on the other foot.
I can’t even believe what I am seeing! It’s not bad enough that the match was delayed an hour and forty minutes because of the length of the Hewitt/Seppi match and now this!
@NNY
We’ve got Eurosport but u have to pay, not worth it just for tennis, though I think u can just go for a month. Don’t have/want Sky, which again u have to pay for and it’s all sport, so for me Livehunter is fine.
OMG Tomic off court with an injury! A gr8 start…not!
deucy,
Sorry for the long, involved answer. But if livehunter is one of those livestreams, I am just very nervous about using any of them. I have had a few viruses on my computer when I used them in the past. I know that some are very reliable, but if I can get the live match on ESPN3, then I would just as soon use that.
Yes, Tomic has an injury to start the match. Unbelievable! Meanwhile, he has been blasting aces and big serves.
Rafa hit a 126 mph ace! Good serving!
You never know what to expect with this guy Tomic.
So Tomic holds easily and then limps off the court. This is weird.
Good thing is Rafa’s getting a work-out, but serve needs working on……
Poor Tomic’s struggling with that groin injury………
Rafa gets the break and serves for the first set!
1st set Rafa. 6-4
Mats rather rudely suggesting injury is due to lack of conditioning! How would he know lol. Tomic is surely gonna lose in 3 though, injury or not, but such a gr8 talent, hope he doesn’t waste it.
we should not take Mats seriously, duecy 😉
great win for Muzz ! backing this up in the next rnd against tougher opponents would obv be tough… positive signs from him nonetheless 🙂
LOl! That’s too funny! Yes, by all means we should not take Mats Wilander seriously! I don’t know where he got the idea that the injury was due to lack of conditioning. I don’t get that at all.