Currently standing in Novak Djokovic’s way of a sixth Australian Open title is Andreas Seppi, who will face the world No. 1 during third-round action on Friday. Kei Nishikori and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez are also aiming for a place in the last 16.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (28) Andreas Seppi
Djokovic and Seppi will be going head-to-head for the 12th time in their careers when they clash in round three of the Australian Open on Friday. All 11 of their previous encounters have gone the way of Djokovic, who is 7-0 at Seppi’s expense on hard courts and 15-1 in total hard-court sets. Only in their first-ever showdown on this surface did the Italian take a set, a feat he accomplished despite ultimately going down 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 at the 2006 Rotterdam event. The only previous Grand Slam contest between the two players came last summer at the U.S. Open, where Djokovic cruised through a third-round affair 6-3, 7-5, 7-5.
Seppi will be eager to escape the 25-32 seed range because he has now drawn Djokovic as his 1-8 seed twice in a row at majors. That is anyone’s worst nightmare especially in Melbourne, where Djokovic has triumphed on five occasions–including four times in the last five years. The Serb is up to his usual tricks so far this fortnight, with straight-set defeats of youngsters Hyeon Chung and Quentin Halys. Seppi punched his ticket to the last 32 by taking out Teymuraz Gabashvili 12-10 in a fourth-set tiebreaker and Denis Kudla in straights. The 29th-ranked Italian is defending fourth-round points, as he stunned Roger Federer at this stage last season before losing a five-set thriller to Nick Kyrgios. Unfortunately for Seppi, rock-solid consistency from the back of the court will not be enough to challenge an opponent who is in the kind of form that Djokovic is showcasing right now.
Pick: Djokovic in 3 losing 8-10 games
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(26) Guillermo Garcia-Lopez vs. (7) Kei Nishikori
Nishikori has never advanced past the Australian Open quarterfinals, but he has also made four consecutive trips to at least the fourth round–including two to the quarters. The world No. 7 is healthy and looking primed for another appearance in the second week Down Under. Nishikori opened with 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 beatdown of Philipp Kohlschreiber before earning a 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 victory over Austin Krajicek.
Up next for Nishikori is a third career contest against Garcia-Lopez, whom he dominated on both previous occasions. The Spaniard lost 6-4, 6-4 eight years ago in Tokyo and 6-3, 6-1 at the 2014 Madrid Masters. Garcia-Lopez has advanced this fortnight with wins over Paul-Henri Mathieu (three sets) and Daniel Brands (four). The 32-year-old is a stellar 4-2 for the season, but he has not defeated anyone ranked better than 96th in the world. Garcia-Lopez would be especially competitive in this match on clay, but Nishikori will play on top of the baseline and keep his underdog opponent in defensive positions on this surface.
Pick: Nishikori in 3
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