Matthew Barton is in the form of his career. Yes he is still some sixty places removed from his career-high ranking of 267, but the players he is beating are of a calibre he could not have envisaged when he was down playing Futures just two years ago. The Australian edged fellow in-form Aussie Omar Jasika in three sets 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to advance to the quarter-finals.
Barton will face eighth seed and former Top 100 player Andrey Golubev, who dismissed Takuto Niki of Japan 6-1, 6-3 in fifty-five minutes.
Third seed Saketh Myneni had a long match with former Junior No. 1 Filip Peliwo, with Myneni eventually winning 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. The match lasted an hour and forty-seven minutes. The match featured nine breaks of serve, implying that both men were struggling to take control but the Indian eventually prevailed.
The final singles match of Wednesday saw Benjamin Mitchell beat lucky loser Jarryd Chaplin by a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 margin.
Thursday Selected matches and picks (in bold):
Stephane Robert vs Duckhee Lee: The French veteran is having a late career resurgence. At thirty-five years young, he qualified and then reached the third round of the Australian Open by defeating Bjorn Fratangelo and Rajeev Ram before succumbing to Gael Monfils. It was his second best-ever run at the Australian having qualified and reached the fourth round in 2014. Duckhee Lee is a teenager with a bright future. From South Korea, his stock is not quite as high as compatriot Hyeon Chung, but has some decent results so far in his young career. With Robert’s form and experience, the Frenchman should win.
Blake Mott vs Stefanos Tsitsipas: A huge opportunity for both, this match could see the rise of Tsitsipas who had a good run at the Australian Open Juniors. Tsitsipas beat Brydan Klein in the first round and is that form is anything to go by, he should win here too.
Luke Saville vs Max Purcell: Yet another young Australian talent in Purcell takes on former Wimbledon Junior Champion Luke Saville. Purcell fought eventual winner Oliver Anderson all the way in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 match. This could represent a chance as Saville is inconsistent.
