Novak Djokovic has not been seriously tested yet but he will run into a red-hot opponent in Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open on Monday. Kei Nishikori and Pablo Carreno Busta are also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (15) Danill Medvedev
Djokovic and Medvedev will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they clash in round four of the Australian Open on Monday. Both of their previous encounters have gone the way of Djokovic, who got a fourth-set retirement from Medvedev during 2017 Davis Cup action before cruising 6-4, 6-4 two years ago on the grass courts of Eastbourne. Medvedev is a much different player now, up to 19 in the world thanks to three titles last season and a recent runner-up performance in Brisbane. So far in Melbourne he has disposed of Lloyd Harrison, Ryan Harrison, and David Goffin all in easy straight sets.
After achieving perfection through two rounds (d. Mitchell Krueger and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga without even playing a tiebreaker), Djokovic endured a minor hiccup against Denis Shapovalov on Saturday but still coasted 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0. The 31-year-old Serb has every reason to be the title favorite this fortnight as the world No. 1 and six-time Aussie Open champion. An in-form Medvedev will make him work even harder than Shapovalov did, but Djokovic should be on his way to the quarterfinals.
Pick: Djokovic in 4
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(23) Pablo Carreno Busta vs. (8) Kei Nishikori
Even on hard courts, Carreno Busta is no stranger to Grand Slam success. The 23rd-ranked Spaniard, who reached the French Open quarters in 2017 on his preferred clay-court surface, made a run to the U.S. Open semis three months later. But success at this Australian Open was not expected, as Carreno Busta slumped bigtime in 2018 and recently lost his second match in Auckland to Jan-Lennard Struff. Suddenly, though, the 27-year-old is through to round four following defeats of Luca Vanni, Ilya Ivashka, and Fabio Fognini.
Up next for Carreno Busta is is–shockingly–a first-ever meeting with Nishikori. Somehow these two veterans have never faced each other, but that drought will end after Nishikori scraped past Kamil Majchrzak (via fifth-set retirement), Ivo Karlovic (in a fifth-set tiebreaker), and Joao Sousa (in straights). Thus the Japanese world No. 9 is 7-0 this year, with a title in Brisbane to prepare himself for these Melbourne festivities. Nishikori raised his level against Sousa and this probably isn’t a favorable matchup for Carreno Busta, who does not have the firepower with which to hit Nishikori off the court.
Pick: Nishikori in 4
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