The action will heat up in Melbourne on Tuesday night, as Matteo Berrettini takes on Kevin Anderson and Stefanos Tsitsipas battles Gilles Simon under the lights.
(5) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Gilles Simon
Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas is teetering on the edge of Grand Slam glory. The world No. 6 muscled his way to the semifinals of the French Open last fall; he went down to Novak Djokovic but showed impressive grit to take push the Serb to five sets. He also made the semis in Melbourne in 2019, so he definitely knows how to play in Oz.
His first-round opponent is the French veteran Gilles Simon, who has a fascinating ability to cause other players to perform poorly. Although he’s ranked at No. 66, down from a career high of No. 6 in the world back in 2009, he is still capable of producing upsets from time to time. Last year he posted wins over Daniil Medvedev and Denis Shapovalov, although they were best-of-three matches.
Tsitsipas is by far the better player of the two, but Simon is still Simon and could very well snag a set.
Cheryl pick: Tsitsipas in 4
Ricky pick: Tsitsipas in 4
(9) Matteo Berrettini vs. Kevin Anderson
It’s rotten luck for Italy’s Matteo Berretini to have drawn Kevin Anderson in the first round of a major. The South African is a seasoned veteran with plenty of slam success to his name. He was a U.S. Open and Wimbledon finalist with a terror of a first serve. His ranking sits at No. 81 in the world due to a long struggle with injuries. Last February he underwent right-knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus.
Berrettini for his part has had a patchy 2020 season. He went 9-6 with no titles. He began 2021 with a bang, however. He played at the ATP Cup for team Italy and posted wins over Dominic Thiem, Gael Monfils, and Roberto Bautista Agut before losing to Daniil Medvedev of Team Russia in the final.
Berrettini had plenty of warmup time in Melbourne and Anderson is still fighting to find his pre-injury form. If he’s serving well, the South African might earn himself a set or two–but the Italian should make it through.
Cheryl pick: Berrettini in 4
Ricky pick: Berrettini in 4
WWW?
yes, Simon’s counter punching style has a habit of taking advantage of any loss of concentration. Unless, Tsitsipas plays a flawless match, he will lose a set even to Simon well below his career best.
The age difference is the telling factor. Tsitipas is quite aggressive and goes for the break early so the probability is he gets 1-2 breaks a set against a player like Simon. Tsitsipas is quite good at constructing points and using angles, and his serve is strong enough to give him plenty of breathing room.
Dan Evans was another victim of too much tennis. Obviously keen to get as much tennis in as possible, he ended up shooting himself in the foot. Norrie was in decent form but grew an extra leg knowing he could exploit. Every time Evans leveled, Norrie just wouldn’t go away. It’s a huge advantage mentally when you think your opponent might be tired. if if your opponent isn’t that tired you can just believe you have an advantage and turn it into a grueling match. Its a self-fulfilling prophecy.