A couple of intriguing, all-seeded affairs are part of what is a fun, jam-packed Friday schedule in Melbourne. Stefanos Tsitsipas awaits Nikoloz Basilashvili, while Karen Khachanov take on Roberto Bautista Agut.
(14) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs (19) Nikoloz Basilashvili
This will be the first-ever meeting between Nikoloz Basilashvili and NextGen star Stefanos Tsitsipas. Both men’s stars are on the rise: Basilashvili started out the 2018 season ranked No. 61 in the world and now sits at No. 20. He made headlines at the 500-level event in Hamburg by coming up through qualies and then taking the title with a win over Argentine Leonardo Mayer.
Tsitsipas’s rise through the rankings was even more impressive, as he started his season last year ranked 91 in the world. A record-making run to the finals of the Toronto Masters followed by a title in Stockholm (and one at the NextGen ATP Finals) positioned Tsitsipas at world No. 15.
Neither player had particularly impressive tune-up events leading into the Australian Open. Basilashvili won a couple matches in Doha over lower-ranked players but ran into Novak Djokovic in the quarters, from whom he took a set albeit in a losing effort. Tsitsipas lost in the quarters of Sydney to Andreas Seppi.
Basilashvili comes into this third round match off a pair of long-ish matches against his first two opponents this week. Italian qualifier Stefanano Travaglia (ranked No. 139) pushed the Georgian to five sets. Tsitsipas showed some signs of rust himself in his first two matches, losing a set apiece to tour veteran Viktor Troicki and Matteo Berrettini. Still, of the two, Tsitsipas seems to be working his way into form more efficiently.
Cheryl pick: Tsitsipas in 4
Ricky pick: Tsitsipas in 5
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(10) Karen Khachanov vs. (22) Roberto Bautista Agut
This might end up being more competitive than seedings would suggest. Roberto Bautista Agut is almost certainly playing some of the best tennis of his career at the moment. He shocked Djokovic in the semifinals in Doha and came away with the title with a final win over Tomas Berdych.
Gone are the days in which Spanish players only excel on clay. Bautista Agut has nine titles to his name: seven are hard-court wins and he can only be more confident having won in Doha over tough competition.
Karen Khachanov had no match wins in 2019 coming into Melbourne, having bowed out of Doha in the first round to Stan Wawrinka. The Russian produced the season of his life in 2018, but there is at least an outside chance that he’s still shaking off some rust from the offseason.
Khachanov has the weapons to take care of Bautista Agut, but he doesn’t seem to be firing on all cylinders yet. This has the potential to be an entertaining, hard-fought contest.
Cheryl pick: Khachanov in 5
Ricky pick: Bautista Agut in 4
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Tsitsi and Khach in 5. Bashy has a big game and can give Tsitsi some problems. Ditto Khach and RBA but RBA must be running on fumes by now, while Khach has looked less than impressive so far.
Bash in 4; RBA in 4.