Roger Federer has cruised through two rounds, but the competition level is increasing in the form of Richard Gasquet on Saturday at the Australian Open. Novak Djokovic, who already endured one tough test, is aiming for a spot in the second week at the expense of Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
(29) Richard Gasquet vs. (2) Roger Federer
Federer and Gasquet will be squaring off for the 19th time in their careers when they battle for a spot in round four of the Australian Open on Saturday. The head-to-head series stands at a dominant 16-2 in favor of Federer, who is 16-1 in their last 17 meetings and 8-0 in their last eight dating back to 2011. In their first collision since 2015 at last year’s Shanghai Masters, the 36-year-old Swiss got the job done 7-5, 6-4. Federer went on to capture that title, his seventh of the season on the heels of Grand Slam triumphs at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. The world No. 2’s title defense Down Under is off to a strong start with straight-set victories over Aljaz Bedene and Jan-Lennard Struff.
Gasquet booked his spot in the last 32 in similar fashion, taking out Blaz Kavcic and Lorenzo Sonego in easy straight sets without requiring a single tiebreaker. The 31-year-old Frenchman could not have headed into Melbourne with much confidence, as his 2017 campaign was a mediocre one and he lost in the Doha second round to Stefanos Tsitsipas earlier this month. Gasquet remains talented even though he may be past his prime, and he is capable of troubling the top players in the world. But he too often fails to produce his best tennis when it matters most, and–for example–he is a combined 3-43 lifetime against Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. As such, the underdog is likely in for another long day at the office; or a quick one, depending on how you look at it.
Pick: Federer in 3 with no tiebreakers
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(14) Novak Djokovic vs. (21) Albert Ramos-Vinolas
Djokovic enjoyed a walk in the park for his opening match against Donald Young, but the six-time Australian Open champion quickly ran into his first test since last summer at Wimbledon. Finally back from an elbow injury, Djokovic survived the heat–and to a lesser extent survived Gael Monfils–with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 victory over the Frenchman on Thursday afternoon. The jury, however, is still out on the Serb’s form and more specifically his revamped surface motion. Neither Young nor a zapped Monfils played well enough to truly push Djokovic, who is now 60-7 lifetime at Melbourne Park with triumphs in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016.
Up next for the world No. 14 is a fifth career contest against Ramos-Vinolas, who is 0-4 in the head-to-head series and 0-10 in total sets–only once extending Djokovic to a tiebreaker. The 21st-seeded Spaniard lost two best-of-five matches in 2017; 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the Davis Cup quarterfinals and 7-6(5), 6-1, 6-3 at the French Open. A decent hard-court player even though clay is arguably his best surface, Ramos-Vinolas has advanced this fortnight with straight-set defeats of Americans Jared Donaldson and Tim Smyczek. Unlike Djokovic’s two previous opponents, the world No. 22 will compete from start to finish and make this somewhat interesting. But as their previous results suggest, he does not have the offensive firepower to seriously trouble Djokovic.
Pick: Djokovic in 3 with at least one tiebreaker
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who ya got?
Djoko and Roger in straights each with a breaker
If ARV can get to a breaker he will win that breaker
Fognini is a stupid bum
Fognini is a stupid bum?
Correct assessment!
We all knew that!lol
Well, that stupid bum just made it into the 4th round, lol – unlike other higher ranked players who meekly went away today. Fognini so far put together a nice run far away fromthe lime light.
Stupid bums sit behind computer screens and berate tennis players that make millions a year and work their asses off to get where they are.
ARV is doing all the running in this match; he’s playing from way behind the baseline like it’s a clay court here, not going to trouble Djoko one bit. I mean how can he gain an edge over Djoko from the baseline?
Djoko plays on the baseline and controls all the points; ARV has no idea how to change things a bit, like takes more risk and steps inside the court to take the ball early.
Yeah,ARV has no chance playing like that in a mid-fast HC. I wonder how Donaldson wasn’t able to take at least a set of him,he certainly has the tools to do so,especially in this conditions.
ARV just hits hard from behind the baseline, can’t even change the pace of his shots, no wonder Djoko is feeling so comfortable out there, don’t even need to change his rhythm at all.
I need djoko to stay alive so that he can give fed a good fight in semis. Djoko will feel energised if he sees Fed on other side.
That group of age 30+ players (except the big three) are truly in their decline. Some are former top ten players but they’re now ranked top 30 at best. They’re mostly playing subpar tennis now compared to their heydays – Tsonga, Monfils, Gasquet, Berdych, Ferrer. Yet to see fully recovered Stan and Murray, how they’ll play.
Berdych seems to play well this AO, don’t know that’s a true revival or it’s his last hurray, fingers crossed.
The big three are still so quick around the court, footwork impeccable, the rest of the field (at least most of them) havent a clue where they (big three)are going to hit their shots, hardly anytime to get to those shots – Djoko/ARV, Fed/Gasquet and Rafa/Dzumhur – the big three’s opponents hardly got a clue!
Yes, it’s truly astonishing how cluesless their opponents are! So far only the Djoker struggled a bit against Monfils. And that might’ve had to do with the heat as well as with Monfils.
Btw, I read that Roddick has openly complained that his former nemesis Federer gets too much preferential treatment, lol! Oh well, Rafa vs Dzumhur was a nightmatch, too, and didn’t really deserve it. In a way you can’t blame the organizers of a tournament for protecting their stars. They want them to stay in the draw as long as possible. That Novak vs Monfils wasn’t a night match is a true head scratcher, though.
Luckystar did you watch N. Djokovic vs A. Ramos?
I wish it had been so Monfils wouldn’t have been so badly affected by the heat. That’s stupid that they didn’t have that match happen at night. Although many reported that Djokovic requested a day match because he knew he could handle the conditions better than most and win a battle like that. He denied it in his presser though but it is an interesting thought that many believed true. If so, it was a smart move lol
I didn’t realize Djokovic is so close to 100%. I would never have picked him to lose to Monfils. I thought he had a situation similar to Stan’s.