Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe clash in an all-American battle at Melbourne Park on Thursday. Felix Auger-Aliassime will also take to the court against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina as second-round action concludes.
(20) Taylor Fritz vs. Frances Tiafoe
Top-ranked American Taylor Fritz will take on countryman and good friend Frances Tiafoe for a spot in the Australian Open third round on Thursday. The world No. 22 had a shot at knocking out world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the third round in Melbourne a year ago. The Serb came back after losing the third and fourth sets to win in five. Since then, Fritz has carved out a niche for himself as a dangerous hard-courter. In particular he came on at the end of the 2021 season, posting a quarterfinal showing at the Paris Masters and a semifinal run at Indian Wells.
Frances Tiafoe has had a rough start to the 2022 season. The popular American was 0-2 going into the Australian Open and he was taken to five sets by Argentine qualifier Marco Trungelliti (No. 198 in the world) in the first round. Tiafoe, who upset world No. 7 Andrey Rublev in the third round of the 2021 U.S. Open, is notably off form so far this year.
Fritz holds a 2-1 head-to-head edge over Tiafoe, and with respective form taken into consideration this is very like to move to 3-1 in Fritz’s favor. Tiafoe just hasn’t found his range so far, and Fritz has been solid.
Cheryl pick: Fritz in 3
Ricky pick: Fritz in 4
(9) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Felix Auger-Aliassime had a surprisingly tricky start to the week. Emil Ruusuvuori, the Finnish player ranked 90th in the world, took him to five sets before the Canadian prevailed 6-4 in the fifth. He will be looking to consolidate his semifinal success at the U.S. Open in Melbourne.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was a successful junior player and is known on tour as a pet adoption advocate. The Spaniard was the No. 2-ranked junior player in the world in 2017. He made a name for himself at last year’s French Open with an upset win over world No. 16 Casper Ruud and surprise run to the quarters. He hasn’t made much noise on hard courts in his professional career.
Melbourne features a relatively slow surface, which will give Davidovich Fokina time to chase down some balls. In the past, Auger-Aliassime has been lured into ending a point too soon, going for too much too quickly. But since adding Toni Nadal to his coaching staff, he has been much more patient. Despite a rusty start to the tournament, Auger-Aliassime should find his way through.
Cheryl pick: Auger-Aliassime in 4
Ricky pick: Auger-Aliassime in 4
It doesn’t take much for Tiafoe to turn it on. He was always in control of that previous much and will likely tighten his game up in this one.
Every new year is a new growth stage for these younger player. ADF won’t go go down lying down; he’s a solid unit ready for battle.
Tiafoe will be tough.Slunp is deceptive with him
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Fritz and FAA in four