Rafael Nadal and Marin Cilic are on a collision course for the Australian Open quarterfinals, although they still have a long way to go before that potential showdown. They are currently set for respective third-round contests against Damir Dzumhur and Ryan Harrison on Friday.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (28) Damir Dzumhur
Nadal could not have asked for a better start to his 2018 Australian Open campaign–a start that was always going to be especially important given that he went into Melbourne with a possible knee injury. After all, the world No. 1 had been forced out of the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals following just one match and he also withdrew from recent events in Abu Dhabi and Brisbane. It is safe to say those knee concerns are things of the past, because Nadal did not drop a single set in victories over Victor Estrella Burgos and Leonardo Mayer; the former via a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 triple-breadstick and the latter by a more competitive 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) scoreline.
Up next for the 2009 Aussie Open champion on Friday is a second career meeting with Dzumhur. Their only previous encounter came two years ago at the Miami Masters, where Dzumhur got through a second-round showdown when the Spaniard retired while trailing 3-0 in the third set. The Bosnian celebrated in unusually exuberant manner following a retirement and suggested afterward that his play–not heat-related dizziness–was the reason Nadal called it quits. Whatever the case, Dzumhur will have much more difficulty advancing this time around if a healthy Nadal successfully deals with temperatures that are expected to be much hotter on Friday than they were from Monday through Wednesday. The world No. 30, meanwhile, has advanced with wins over Paolo Lorenzi (3-6, 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-4) and John Millman (7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1). More than six hours on the singles court does not bode well for Dzumhur, who delivered a recent retirement of his own against Alex de Minaur in Sydney because of a leg problem.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 8-10 games
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Ryan Harrison vs. (6) Marin Cilic
Cilic and Harrison have a surprisingly extensive history against each other–surprising because their schedules outside of Grand Slams and Masters 1000s do not often coincide, and because Harrison does not progress far in ATP draws on a consistent basis. They have squared off on six previous occasions heading into Friday’s title, and the first five all came in either the first or second rounds of ATP events. This will be their second consecutive contest in the third round of a tournament (or in the case of Tokyo last fall, the third round was really a quarterfinal). Cilic is dominating the head-to-head series 5-1 and his only loss can be easily explained by fatigue; just a couple of days after finishing runner-up in Marseille, the Croat went up against Harrison halfway across the world in Mexico and lost 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. He has since won three in a row at the American’s expense, all in straight sets. In fact, all five of Cilic’s victories have come in straights–including 6-3, 6-2 at last season’s Rome Masters and 6-2, 6-0 in Tokyo.
Speaking of blowouts, the world No. 6 clobbered Joao Sousa 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 during second-round action at the Australian Open on the heels of a more competitive four-set success against Vasek Pospisil. With that Cilic is off to a solid start this season, also sporting a semifinal result in Chennai (lost in three sets to nemesis and eventual champion Gilles Simon). Harrison is in similarly stellar form. The 45th-ranked American finished runner-up to Nick Kyrgios in Brisbane and has advanced so far at Melbourne Park with defeats of Dudi Sela (in five sets) and Pablo Cuevas (in straights). Although Harrison is confident right now, with only one exception he has always been hopeless against Cilic.
Pick: Cilic in 3
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Same old Alison,
Rafa was indeed awsome! He seems to be in much better shape than expected after his injury time-off. I remember that last year he struggled more in the early rounds – but of course so far he hasn’t had a truly formidable opponent.
But – unlike his outfit, which I honestly dislike more and more – he looks good oncourt.
Shireling what do you mean ?
Dont mind his outfit, its the colour i dont like, the attire this AO is horrendous ….
Alison, yes, I also don’t like the colors at all – and somehow they seem to appear more hideous when they’re soaked and illuminated by artificial light. So, the fabric is partly to blame, too. Too bad that the return of the sleeveless shirt didn’t come in a more pleasing form.
And yes, I really don’t like the outfits of many other players, either. It boils down to personal preferences of course, but IMO this year’s AO is optically a total miss. Hopefully the results will be more memorable, lol!
I think Shireling is saying nothing new that people are only focussing on Rafa’s ‘easy’ draw forgetting that Fred’s is the same………..same old, Alison.
Fair enough, i dont even care who has got who in their draw, i just want Rafa to win the whole damn thing, and get a second career GS 🙂
Rafa was amazing, I told you guy’s he was ready and he shouldn’t be underestimated, his draw is good but it’s not fair ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜‚.
I don’t want Rafa to win this title, if he meets R. Federer in the finals it won’t be easy for Roger, why? Well, the reasons should be obvious.
Rafa playing great! Loved the way he demolished Dzumhur! Keep it up, dear Spanish genius!
Too bad Tsonga missed his chances to extend the match into fifth set… He certainly had an opportunity but failed big…Nick playing well though…
I’m pleasantly surprised by Kyrgios. He had to go through a few tight situations by now and he managed them well. Is he really maturing? Of course Tsonga isn’t exactly known for his mental stability either, lol! He certainly had quite a few chances for extending the match.
I am more surprised by Tsonga having come so far, beating Shapo in five sets and lost to Kyrgios in four and could’ve gone five sets; given that he had not done any warm up event coming to AO. Expecting him to beat Shapo and then Kyrgios is asking too much of him; a bit sorry for him, at 32 he has probably missed his chances of achieving something great; I feel the same for Berdych too.
You are right that Tsonga’s window of opportunity for big wins has probably closed a while ago. Unfortunately his career was interrupted by serious injuries. But he also was never known to be a mental giant. Talentwise he could’ve won one or two slams earlier in his career.
But still. I haveto say that mentally Kyrgios handled the Tsonga challenge well. He won the big points.
Vamos Rafa!! Adios Zoomer. Next! Love the Shortman, but he must go.
Rafa’s had about as easy a draw as could be hoped for – this side of Fed, anyway! They save the real creampuffs for him. But it will get a LOT tougher in the semis because it looks like it’ll be NK. Dimi’s squeaking through but really not playing well so far. But Rafa’s looking great!
I’m very happy to see Rafa playing really well,despite the difficult conditions in Melbourne,due to the heat and humidity. I believe he’s gonna be ready for the later rounds,he’s gearing up his form sensationally!
Dzumhur deserved to be obliterated,the way he celebrated when he won the match at Miami against Rafa via retirement was disrespectful and he should be embarrased of that.
Pissing Rafa off is not a good idea lol ….
“It’s not about revenge.” 🙂 Or maybe it’s just that living (playing!) well is the best revenge.
Nope, not a good idea to piss off Rafa! But this time Rafa took care of business. He is playing really well. I thinknit’s amazing that he is doing so well without having played any warm up tournaments.
I went to bed early so I was up to see the match. I am just enjoying seeing Rafa moving so well, being confident in his game and looking so sharp. Things will get a lot tougher after the next match. But I think Rafa looks primed and focused and ready for the challenge.
I couldn’t stay up to see the end of Kyrgios/Tsonga. I thought Kyrgios would win. He is looking really good now. But I am trying not to look ahead. One match at a time!
Ramara and NNY right on 😉