The Grandstand’s Ricky Dimon and Joey Hanf of The Tennis Nerds preview and pick four of the best men’s singles matches on Friday at the Australian Open. A rejuvenated Marcos Baghdatis is gunning for an upset of friendly foe Grigor Dimitrov.
(7) Tomas Berdych vs. Viktor Troicki
Ricky: Troicki’s comeback from a year-long suspension has been absolutely outstanding. As can be expected, however, the top players have been a problem for him as he gets back into peak shape. One of those players was Berdych, who hammered the Serb 6-3, 6-4 last fall in Beijing (the other was Andy Murray in Vienna). Troicki did, however, score a win over David Ferrer in Shenzhen. He won’t be afraid of Berdych, but he will be fatigued. Troicki played a whopping eight matches en route to the Sydney title last week. The world No. 54 will finally give out against an opponent who has been in complete cruise control in Melbourne. Berdych 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
Joey: This will be Troicki’s showcase match in his return from suspension for failing to take a drug test. Even though he won the title in Sydney, not many are all that concerned with tournaments a week before a slam so he’s still relatively under the radar. On MCA, this will be his chance to get back to the mainstream. As his comments the last few months have suggested, Troicki is still very bitter about the way the suspension unfolded. Something tells me he really wants to win a match like this so his side of the story can be heard by a large audience…again. Berdych has looked pretty stellar in his first two matches in Melbourne, but Troicki has faced better competition thus far–Jiri Vesely and Leonado Mayer are both very solid. I picked against Troicki in the first round and I’ll pick against him here again knowing well that he may burn me. Berdych does everything a little better and he should be the fitter player. Troicki has played 10 matches in the last 14 days. Berdych 7-6(4), 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.
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Marcos Baghdatis vs. (10) Grigor Dimitrov
Ricky: Dimitrov is 5-1 lifetime against his good friend and occasional doubles partner. He has won four in a row at Baghdatis’ expense dating back to the start of 2013 and the last two were blowouts. That should not be surprising since the Bulgarian has been on the rise while Cypriot borderline disappeared in 2013 and 2014. Out of almost nowhere, however, Baghdatis seems rejuvenated. He finished runner-up at the recent Happy Valley Challenger and he scored a convincing upset of David Goffin on Wednesday. The chances of Baghdatis stringing together two such performances in succession at this point, however, are slim. Dimitrov 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Joey: Baghdatis, the 2006 runner-up in Australia, is enjoying quite a strong push back up the rankings over the last 11 or so months. He had fallen all the way down to 155th last February but is now on the brink of returning to the top 50. The crowd-pleasing Cypriot tends to do well in matches like these and I think he’ll cherish the opportunity. However, his opponent is no joke when it comes to entertainment himself. Dimitrov, at 23 years old, already owns one of the greatest career highlight reels of all time. The Bulgarian has appeared very business-like in his first two matches, dropping just the one set to Lukas Lacko. The first time these two played against one another was in Munich 2011, and it was fantastic. Dimitrov saved two match points before winning 6-2 in the third. This point was ridiculous. Ultimately, I think Dimitrov is the more motivated player at this stage of the tournament, and his first serve will allow him to dictate and dominate with the forehand. Dimitrov 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(3).
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Bernard Tomic vs. Sam Groth
Ricky: Tomic and Groth have treated the home crowd to similar runs to the third round. They followed up relatively straightforward first-round victories with thrillers on Wednesday. Groth outlasted countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis in five and is now set for a second consecutive all-Aussie showdown. This time it is against Tomic, whose 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(6), 7-6(5) triumph over Philipp Kohlschreiber remains arguably the highest-quality match of the tournament. This will likely be a frustrating matchup for the big-hitting Groth, because Tomic feeds off pace and can frustrate somewhat one-dimensional opponents by slicing and dicing. Groth could serve his way to a set, but Tomic has a clear edge. Tomic 7-6(4), 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
Joey: The stakes in this match are so insanely high. Both Tomic and Groth will undoubtably be feeling some nerves as each has an opportunity to reach the round of 16 in Melbourne. And their potential R4 opponent isn’t that bad–things could be much worse than Berdych or Troicki. Night session on MCA will provide a nice stage and I’m very curious to see whom the crowd decides to support. My guess would be Tomic, simply due to his talent and potential. Bernie plays roughly one-thousand times better in Australia than he does anywhere else in the world (outside of Bogota, obviously) and a big part of that is the crowd support. Groth is actually a really great story, but he’s a lesser-known player in Australia. Surely a few tiebreaks are calling, but I think Bernie’s return, along with the fans, makes the difference. Tomic 7-6(8), 7-6(5), 6-4.
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(14) Kevin Anderson vs. (24) Richard Gasquet
Ricky: Anderson’s history against Gasquet is a lot better than it is against Berdych, but that is not exactly saying a lot. It’s still bad. The Frenchman leads their head-to-head series 4-1 and all four of his wins have come in straight sets, whereas Anderson needed three to secure his lone victory over Gasquet at the 2012 Paris Masters. Gasquet is one of those players who rarely beats favored opponents but can generally take care of business in matches that he either should win or has a good chance of winning. Based mostly on the H2H in this matchup, Gasquet is an obvious favorite. Gasquet 7-5, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5.
Joey: Both Anderson and Gasquet have gone quietly through to the third round. Gasquet has looked very impressive and has yet to lose a set. Anderson battled through two game opponents in Diego Schwartzman and Ricardas Berankis. I was a little surprised to see that the Frenchman holds a 4-1 lead in the head-to-head matchup, as he tends to struggle with big servers. Every match the two have played has been on a hard court, so they’ll know what to expect from each other. The battle in this match will be rally length; if Anderson can keep points short, he’ll have a good shot at the upset. If Gasquet can extend rallies, he will like his chances. Anderson has weapons off the ground but tends to play a little too much defense for his size, and that’s probably a big reason he struggles against Gasquet. Gasquet 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-5.
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