Rafael Nadal will continue his Australian Open campaign on Thursday against the always entertaining Marcos Baghdatis. David Goffin and Radek Stepanek are also part of the second-round schedule.
Marcos Baghdatis vs. (9) Rafael Nadal
Nadal and Baghdatis will be facing each other for the 10th time in their careers when they clash in round two of the Australian Open on Thursday. The head-to-head series is being dominated 8-1 by Nadal, who is 4-1 against Baghdatis on hard courts and 1-0 at Grand Slams (6-1, 7-5, 6-3 in the 2006 Wimbledon semifinals). They most recently squared off two seasons ago on the grass courts of Stuttgart, where Nadal got the job done 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-2.
The ninth-ranked Spaniard has been in relatively encouraging form since returning from a wrist injury that sidelined him from the fall swing in 2016. He won the six-man Abu Dhabi event before officially beginning the 2017 season in Brisbane, where he lost a three-setter to Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals. Nadal opened on Tuesday in Melbourne with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Florian Mayer. Baghdatis had an even easier time of things in an all-veteran affair of his own, as he led Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 3-0 before getting a retirement. The 36th-ranked Cypriot did well to regain momentum with a semifinal performance in Auckland after retiring from his opening match of the season in Chennai. A best-of-five match against Nadal, however, will likely be too tough physically on Baghdatis.
Pick: Nadal 3 losing 8-10 games
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Radek Stepanek vs. (11) David Goffin
Stepanek may be 38 years old and outside the top 100, but he cannot be discounted from being a threat to just about anyone on tour on any given day. It has already been a productive Australian Open for the Czech, who qualified for the main draw and then cruised past fellow veteran Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 7-6(1), 6-3 on Tuesday. Stepanek lost in the first round of both the French Open and Wimbledon last in 2016 but pushed Andy Murray and Nick Kyrgios to five sets and four sets, respectively.
Up next for the world No. 102 on Thursday is a second career meeting with Goffin, who won their only previous encounter 6-2, 4-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 at Roland Garros in 2012. Speaking of five-setters, the 11th-ranked Belgian surprisingly had to go the distance with American qualifier Reilly Opelka in round one. Although the 6’11” underdog had chances to go up by a break in the deciding set, Goffin’s experience helped him survive 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Opelka basically took the racket out of Goffin’s hands, but this should be a much better matchup for the No. 11 seed. Stepanek ventures into net with great frequency and there is nothing Goffin likes more than a target at which to showcase his awesome ball-striking.
Pick: Goffin in 4
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who ya got?
Goffin in four and Nadal in four
Rafa in 3 sets.
Goffin in 4 sets.
Rafa in straight…but will be fun rallies; and Goffin in 4.
Rafa in straights but Baggy could steal a set, wouldnt be surprised if he does
Goffin in 4, has the legs to outlast the veteran
Kyrgios crashes out. No tears from me.
Rafa in 3 or 4,David in 4 or 5..
Isner Pox crashes out. No tears from me.
Kyrgios is a total head case. Wouldn’t be happy doing anything in life. Wasted talent.
Pretty good summation…Kyrgios has a fear of committing to success.
Ill-timed ‘tweener perfectly sums up Nick Kyrgios’ professionalism
http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/18500544/australian-open-ill-d-tweener-perfectly-sums-nick-kyrgios-professionalism
Ben Rothenberg @BenRothenberg 3h3 hours ago
Kyrgios on if he is treated too harshly by media: “I deserve it. I’m a bad guy.”
#DoYou?
#OrDontYou.
I was sick last night, but tried to watch as much as I could. I kept falling asleep and then waking up in the wee hours. I did wake up in time to hear that Kyrgios lost. I just don’t know what to say about him.
I also saw Isner lose to Zverev. Another surprise but I have no tears for either Kyrgios of Isner.
This when Seppi serving for the match shows bailing when the pressure is on…
https://twitter.com/AustralianOpen/status/821662573468807170
A better look…1st point of the game…
https://twitter.com/doublefault28/status/821660789455065089
Hawkeye,
Will they fine Kyrgios for lack of effort?
Didn’t see enough of the match but given that he had match point in the 5th set, nah.
Seppi and the AO are a funny mix. Brings out the best in him. Two of his four career 4th round slam appearances have been at the AO and of course he beat Fed in 2015 to get there.
Istomin is giving Nole a fight. I am rooting for the underdog!
Istomin is playing superb tennis. Doubt he will keep it up though. Novak hitting with too much spin at the moment.
The commentators are expecting Istomin to come down to earth eventually!
He hadn’t but Novak really raised his game down 2 set points. And I think that just broke his spirit.
Unbelievable tennis from Djokovic. He really went up a gear there.
I think Istomin had his chance and blew it.
Stay focused, remain confident and be brave, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2g4YQdW8AAm_gM.jpg
wow Istomin. Inredible
DJOKOVIC is out in the second round of the AO. UNBELIEVABLE. IStomic didn’t even hesitate once in the last game!!!
Djokovic says ‘unbelievable’ to him at the net. Good sportsmanship.
What a match!
HOLY CRAP!! This is insane!!
Now the bookies say Andy is the red hot favourite. They got it spectacularly wrong making Djoker the favourite so why should anyone pay any attention to who they think is the favourite?
How the hell Nole lost this match where he used to beat the same guy in the past? hoooowaaahhh
haven’t seen you post in ages!!
Been heartbroken (with tennis) and I have learned to forget it. Now, I am just a reader/spectator of the game and not interested to post so often :-). I can’t help this time as I got shocked with Joker’s loss.
This result would have been less shocking if it were any other slam. Anyway, he almost lost to Simon last year but couldn’t survive this one. Istomin was very brave in tense moments and his DTL shots made the difference.