Australian Open expert picks continue with all four quarterfinal matches spanning Tuesday and Wednesday. Ricky Dimon and Cheryl Murray of The Grandstand along with Tennis Acumen‘s Pete Ziebron preview the action and make their predictions.
Frances Tiafoe vs. (2) Rafael Nadal
Ricky: Tiafoe is coming up with hands down the best tennis of his career and he is doing it at just the right time–in the season’s first Grand Slam. The 21-year-old American seems to like the big stage, but Nadal in Rod Laver Arena is most likely out of his league. Although Tiafoe has the weapons to challenge the Spaniard, he is coming off a five-setter against Andreas Seppi and a tough four-setter against Grigor Dimitrov. He is mentally and physically fried. Nadal in 3: 6-1, 7-5, 6-3.
Cheryl: This could have been intriguing, but Tiafoe has been through the ringer in Melbourne. His near four-hour match against Dimitrov had Tiafoe close to cramping by the fourth set. The American has played well, but Nadal is the absolute worst player to see on the other side of the net on shaky legs. He’s merciless and will think nothing of testing Tiafoe’s wheels until they give out. Nadal in 3: 6-3, 6-1, 6-4.
[polldaddy poll=10218406]
(22) Roberto Bautista Agut vs. (14) Stefanos Tsitsipas
Pete: Bautista Agut has defeated two major champions in Murray and Cilic and impressively swept Karen Khachanov en route to the quarterfinals. Yet, it is Tsitsipas who is receiving the spotlight heading into the match. The young Greek commanded the attention of even non-tennis sports fans when he defeated four consecutive top 10 players to reach the final in Canada last summer. His steady game held off two-time defending AO champion Federer and allowed him to advance to the quarters. Bautista Agut will rely on his experience in this match and will properly quell the enthusiasm, exuberance, and fire from his opponent. Bautista Agut in 4: 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4.
[polldaddy poll=10218404]
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (8) Kei Nishikori
Ricky: Djokovic vs. Pablo Carreno Busta wouldn’t have been good, but it still would have been better than this. Some points will be entertaining, but for the most part this is one of the least interesting matchups in all of tennis. Djokovic is dominating the head-to-head series 15-2 and has won 14 in row at Nishikori’s expense. Throw in the fact that the world No. 9 has already played a trio of five-setters–including an absolute battle against Carreno Busta on Monday–and this has all the makings of (mostly) one-way traffic. Djokovic in 4: 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Cheryl: How Nishikori’s legs are still working is beyond me. Three of his four matches were five-set affairs, with his round of 16 match going almost five hours. Like Tiafoe, Nishikori is playing an opponent who does not show mercy on cramping, tired limbs. Anything other than a straight-set win for Djokovic would be quite a surprise. Djokovic in 3: 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.
Pete: Djokovic has won 14 consecutive matches in this seres, including 31 of 36 sets played. The six-time AO champion has played Nishikori at each major (something that not even Federer vs. Nadal can claim). Seven of the 18 sets that Nishikori has played have gone to a tiebreaker, further extending his time on court. The Japanese will feel fortunate to even be in the quarterfinals this year and will certainly try everything to solve the No. 1 player in the world for the first time in more than four years. As usual, Djokovic will play his game and it will be more than sufficient to advance. Djokovic in 3: 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
[polldaddy poll=10219176]
(16) Milos Raonic vs. (28) Lucas Pouille
Ricky: No one has been more impressive than Raonic this fortnight in terms of overall body of work. Nick Kyrgios? Gone with ease. Stan Wawrinka? A tough one, but check. Pierre-Hugues Hebert? Totally routine. Alexander Zverev? Straight-setter that included an improbable breadstick. Pouille has done well to emerge from a slump to reach the quarters, but this is where his favorable draw ends. Raonic will roll. Raonic in 3: 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3.
Cheryl: Of all the quarterfinal matches, this is the one that’s the biggest surprise–mostly because of Pouille, who has had the draw open for him in a most fortuitous way. It’s probably the end of the line for the Frenchman, though. Raonic is in scary form and with the way he is serving, Pouille will be lucky to avoid a blowout. Raonic in 3: 6-4, 6-3, 7-5.
Pete: Raonic is rolling! The caliber of opponents that he has faced leading to the quarters has allowed the Canadian to measure his game against several different styles of play. Additionally, Raonic has won six of seven tiebreakers played–including a crucial 13-11 breaker in the pivotal third set against Wawrinka in the second round. Pouille had been 0-5 at the Australian Open prior to this year. He will feel good about his advancement in Australia, especially after a win over Coric in the last round (ironically Coric was also also winless in Melbourne prior to this year). Raonic is more than familiar with what he needs to do in this match. Raonic in 3: 7-6(4), 6-4, 7-6(5).
[polldaddy poll=10219177]
WWW?
Nadal, Tsitsipas, Djokovic, Raonic
My brain is too fried from too much tennis to even think about set scores.
Ricky, Raonic gave Sasha 2 breadsticks, not one.
Damn, Rafa is looking good this AO!
Joker in 3; Pouille in 4
Pouille in 4…………👀👀👀👀👀👀
I got $900 on djoker just to win $100
Wow! You must be very confident in Djokovic’s chances. I confess I wouldn’t have the courage to make such a wager.
cheryl’s predictions have been quite on the money so far after the 1st 2 QF matches
Yes. I fully intend to tease Ricky mercilessly if I get the other 2 predictions correct. I shall make him call me Queen Cheryl for at least a month.
Sorry, Queenie. Pouille and Nishikori trashed your (and everyone else’s!) predictions.
Toldja I wouldn’t pick Serena vs The Field. Tough loss for Queen Serena.
Djoker in three Raonic in four. I think Pouille has a shot at the upset though. I have a feeling he can do it but I won’t pick against the form favorite in Raonic.
Wow Pouille won the first set against Raonic, didnt see that coming. Maybe Pouille has woken up and decides to play after being in a slump last season.
Why Pouille could do what Zverev couldnt? Zverev comes with a good serve yet couldnt win a set.
He’s doin it. I thought he could but I wasn’t gonna pick against a guy who just steamrolled Zverev. Pouille is balling though. This guy always struggles with lesser opponents and often loses early because of it, which is why he’s inconsistent. But once he gets to the big matches, he becomes a beast!!
Hes going to win set two now! Impressive against the red hot Raonic!
I am shocked to see Pouille up two sets against Raonic!
Maybe Zverev playing so poorly made Raonic look better than he was. Pouille seems dialed in.
Kei is making a habit of playing extra long matches n then handing it over to Novak on a platter. This is just frustrating and irritating . It would have been better if busta had won..
Another walkover semi for nole with pouille…
yeah we need Kei to start losing early in slams again like he used to
Djoko hasn’t played Pouille before, so I hope Pouille doesn’t have any mental burden playing against Djoko.
Pouille plays a varied game, and let’s see what Mauresmo could do, what game plan she could formulate for Pouille to execute out there. As long as Pouille doesn’t stay at the baseline all day long to rally with Djoko, unlike that Medvedev, he may stand a chance, however slim that may be.
Mauresmo already worked one miracle, two is one too far. I was shocked that he beat Raonic, who’d looked so strong. Just color Djoko into the finals. Sorry for Kei. He’s a tough little guy so he must have been really hurting.
Major upset was on the women’s side. Serena losing from 5-1 up in the 3rd! A bigger upset was that she got called for a foot fault on match point! And didn’t have one of her meltdowns.