Always the biggest day of the tournament at the Australian Open, ‘Super Saturday’ once again lived up to its billing.
Between Simona Halep’s herculean 15-13 third-set triumph over Lauren Davis, Hyeon Chung’s upset of Sascha Zverev and Angelique Kerber obliterating Maria Sharapova, Saturday ensured week one of the AO ended on a high note, and primes us for a second week which, for both the men and the women, possesses and intriguing mix of familiar faces and pleasant surprises. Right now we could be looking at Kerber and Federer again holding the trophies… or Su-Wei Hsieh and Fabio Fognini. Either way, it’s an exciting time to be a tennis fan.
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Here’s your three to see on day 7 in Melbourne:
Anett Kontaveit (EST) [32] v Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) – 1st on Rod Laver Arena
Have you ever met anyone from Estonia? Me neither. Probably because they’re all too busy tormenting Carla Suarez Navarro. Having played Estonian Kaia Kanepi in a three-set thriller in the previous round, the Spaniard now gets to deal with her countrywoman and conqueror of Jelena Ostapenko, the punchy Anett Kontaveit. Expect a fantastic game of cat-and-mouse, as both women can work wonders with their directional hitting, with there bound to be some scintillating winners from both sides. If you had to pick a winner, you’d have to lean towards Kontaveit, but Suarez Navarro in full flight is a threat to anyone, and hopefully we see that here.
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Rafael Nadal (ESP0 [1] v Diego Schwartzman (ARG) [24] – 3rd on Rod Laver
How healthy is Rafael Nadal? Pretty healthy, it turns out. That said, his 110-minute third-round encounter with Damir Dzumhur didn’t provide nearly the test Diego Schwartzman will. Once viewed as just a clay-courter, the 5’5½ Argentine has managed to translate his defense-oriented game to hard courts in the past year, while adding an offensive capability that belies a man of his size. At the very least, that means Nadal can’t expect Schwartzman to beat himself, and indeed might actually take the fight to Nadal on occasion. Of course, Rafa remains a commanding favourite, but the hope is Schwartzman can bring out the Spaniard’s battering-ram best.
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Nick Kyrgios (AUS) [17] v Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) [3] – 1st match, Night Session on Rod Laver
Two blokes who can thrill and infuriate in equal measure, this match might produce some of the best tennis we’ll see or year… or some of its worst. Kyrgios and Dimitrov have played three times before, with the latter leading the rivalry 2-1, albeit with the Australian taking their most recent encounter, a three-set affair this year in Brisbane which should be fairly illustrative of the tennis we can expect. Plenty of quick holds, a few furious rallies, and a lot – no seriously, a lot – of absolutely slotted forehands. This could easily be three tiebreaks or five alternating bagels, either way you’re sure to get your money’s worth.
