Third round singles action concludes on Saturday in Melbourne.
It’s now been over a decade since Victoria Azarenka won her back-to-back titles at the Australian Open. If she wants to stay in contention for her third, she’ll have to go through a red-hot Jelena Ostapenko on Saturday. In other WTA third round singles action, World No.1 Iga Swiatek takes on promising teenager Linda Noskova.
On the men’s side, Day 7 provides several high-profile collisions between seeded players, including Daniil Medvedev against Felix Auger-Aliassime and Casper Ruud against Cameron Norrie. Plus, World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz is challenged by another promising teenager, Juncheng Shang.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Saturday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Jelena Ostapenko (11) vs. Victoria Azarenka (18) – Second on Margaret Court Arena
Since her titles here in 2012 and 2013, it had been a full decade until Azarenka returned to the semifinals in Melbourne a year ago. But Vika underperformed during the rest of 2023, going just 16-16. She’s 5-1 to start this season, and won two three-setters over tough outs (Giorgi, Tauson) to reach this stage.
Ostapenko prevailed in a three-setter of her own in the last round over Ajla Tomljanovic. Jelena’s off to a strong 9-1 start on the year, after winning the title last week in Adelaide. However, that lone loss this month came at the hands of Azarenka, who in Brisbane defeated her 7-5 in the third.
That win propelled Vika’s record to 3-0 against Jelena, though all three matches have been tight. And based on Ostapenko’s current level of confidence, thanks to a seven-match win streak, I like her chances of gaining her first victory over Azarenka on Saturday afternoon. Ostapenko’s ball striking can be utterly stifling when at her best.
Cameron Norrie (19) vs. Casper Ruud (11) – Not Before 5:00pm on John Cain Arena
In an extremely high-quality second round match, Ruud outlasted Australia’s Max Purcell on Thursday in a final-set tiebreak. While Casper underperformed in 2023 following a life-changing year in 2022, he still achieved his third Major final at Roland Garros. And Casper is now 5-0 to begin 2024.
Norrie’s results also declined last year after a breakthrough 2022. The second half of the season was especially challenging for Cam, going only 5-13. Also like Ruud, Norrie won a five-setter in the last round, over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri.
Casper leads their head-to-head 3-0, with all three matches taking place on hard courts within the past three years. And based on recent form, Ruud should be favored to make it 4-0 against Norrie.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Linda Noskova – 7:00pm on Rod Laver Arena
Swiatek was all but out in the last round, down 4-1 and two breaks in the third to Danielle Collins. But the hard-hitting American decelerated her shots with the lead, enabling Iga to win the last five games and the match. The four-time Major champ now looks to reach the second week of this tournament for the fifth consecutive year.
Noskova is one of many impressive female teenagers coming out of the Czech Republic. She won the Roland Garros girls’ title in 2021, and now at the age of 19 has achieved her best result at a Slam to date, taking out 31st seed Marie Bouzkova in the first round. Linda is already 6-1 this season, coming off a semifinal run two weeks ago in Brisbane, where she defeated fellow fast-rising teen Mirra Andreeva.
Last year in the quarterfinals of Warsaw, Swiatek beat Noskova 6-1, 6-4. As Collins did in the last round, Noskova will look to use her formidable backhand against Swiatek. But after escaping near defeat on Thursday, I expect Iga to play more freely and confidently on Saturday, and to advance to the fourth round.
Felix Auger-Aliassime (27) vs. Daniil Medvedev (3) – 7:00pm on Margaret Court Arena
Day 5 was an amazing session of tennis in Melbourne, but Medvedev wasn’t enjoying it at all. After the first three matches on Rod Laver Arena all went long, his night match against Emil Ruusuvuori didn’t start until almost midnight, and Daniil was super cranky about it. He dropped the first two sets to Emil, yet eventually fought his way back to win in five, at nearly 4:00am local time. How will Medvedev bounce back from such a late finish?
Auger-Aliassime played a near five-hour five-setter of his own in the first round against Dominic Thiem, before winning in four sets against qualifier Hugo Grenier. Felix has advanced to the second week here in each of the past three years, but after a year filled with injuries, he’s still trying to regain 100% health.
And their history has been completed one-sided. Medvedev leads 6-0, with all six victories on hard courts. Two years ago in the quarterfinals of this event, they had an epic encounter, which saw Daniil come from two sets down to win in five after close to five hours, even saving a match point along the way. Despite how draining his last match was, I expect Medvedev to recover well, and to remain undefeated against the Canadian.
Other Notable Matches on Saturday:
Juncheng Shang (WC) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) – Alcaraz survived a four-set test from Lorenzo Sonego on Thursday, Juncheng is an 18-year-old from China making his debut in the third round of a Major.
Ugo Humbert (21) vs. Hubert Hurkacz (9) – Hurkacz came back from two-sets-to-one down in the last round to eliminate Jakub Mensik in five. Humbert has claimed two four-setters thus far, and is looking to reach the second week of a Major for just the second time. Hubi is 2-0 against Ugo, which includes a match just a few months ago in Basel, which went to 7-6 in the third.
Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.
