As the second week of play begins in Melbourne, the matchups become even more appetizing. The majority of the big names remaining in the women’s draw are in the top half, which plays on Monday. Six of the eight women in action are seeded 21 or better. In the men’s bottom half of the draw, which will also take to the court on Day 8, we have 31 major singles titles represented. Of course, they belong to only two men: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Federer is a heavy favorite on Monday, but Djokovic’s situation is much more complicated.
Caroline Garcia vs. Madison Keys
Here we have two women who elevated their careers to new levels in the latter stages of 2017. Of course Keys advanced to her first major final in New York. She sheepishly lost that match, winning just three games. Keys played just one more match following the US Open before shutting her season down due to lingering wrist pain. Madison though was one of the strongest players in the first week of the Australian Open, as she is yet to drop a set. That being said, the higher-ranked Garcia will be a big step up in competition. Caroline won two big tournaments in back-to-back weeks last fall, becoming a late qualifier for the WTA Finals. At that tournament in Singapore, she impressed by making the semifinals, even defeating eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki in the robin round stages. However, Garcia arrived in Melbourne with questions regarding her health. She was forced to retire from the tournament in Brisbane just a few weeks ago due to a back injury. Thus far in this fortnight, Garcia has been tested but has survived two three-set battles. These players are 1-1 lifetime, with Keys winning their most recent battle in Wuhan in 2016. The more in-form players is Keys, and these fast Melbourne courts give her an added advantage.
Novak Djokovic vs. Hyeon Chung
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Djokovic easily defeated Chung in the opening round of this tournament two years ago, but both players are in very different places right now. Chung is coming off the biggest win of his career. The ATP Next Gen Finals champion upset fifth seeded Alexander Zverev in the last round, soundly thumping the German in the fifth set 6-0. Djokovic of course came into Melbourne with questions surrounding the status of his elbow, and was clearly bothered by a hip injury on Saturday. Chung is a very solid defensive player, and is extremely fit, so he’ll make Djokovic hit a lot of balls. With Novak’s body at less than 100%, this is a huge opportunity for Chung to upset the 12-time major champion and make his first major quarterfinal.
Simona Halep vs. Naomi Osaka
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Speaking of bodies at less than 100%, Simona Halep cannot be anywhere near full strength. After rolling her ankle in her opening round, she played one of the longest women’s matches in Australian Open history just two days ago. Halep survived a classic, near four-hour marathon against Lauren Davis, saving three match points along the way. Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka is playing the best tennis of her career. She’s already taken out two top 20 seeds this past week to get into the fourth round of a major for the first time. The 20-year-old is yet to drop a set, and is playing with much more composure than some previous Grand Slam events where she choked under pressure. Is Naomi ready to really make a statement by upsetting the world number one? Halep owns a 2-0 record against Osaka, but both of those matches went to three sets. Considering Halep’s troubled path to this match, Osaka may even be the favorite in this one.
Karolina Pliskova vs. Barbora Strycova
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The winner of the Halep/Osaka match will face the winner here. For the second straight round, Pliskova will face a fellow seeded player from the Czech Republic. Pliskova leads the head-to-head with Strycova 2-1, and prevailed in both of their previous hard court meetings. It’s often hard enough to play a fellow countrywoman, but there’s some added intrigue here as well. Pliskova recently hired Strycova’s former coach, Tomas Krupa. Meanwhile, Strycova is working with Pliskova’s former coach, David Kotyza. That dynamic must cause some extra tension in this one for both players, especially in their coaching boxes. I still like Pliskova’s chances to advance not only here, but much deeper into the second week.
Monday’s order of play
ROD LAVER ARENA – play starts at midnight UK time
17-Madison Keys (United States) v 8-Caroline Garcia (France)
Hsieh Su-wei (Chinese Taipei) v 21-Angelique Kerber (Germany)
Marton Fucsovics (Hungary) v 2-Roger Federer (Switzerland)
Evening session
14-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) v Chung Hyeon (South Korea)
20-Barbara Strycova (Czech Republic) v 6-Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic)
MARGARET COURT ARENA – play starts at midnight UK time
25-Fabio Fognini (Italy) v 19-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic), likely to be no earlier than 6am
1-Simona Halep (Romania) v Naomi Osaka (Japan)
HISENSE ARENA
5-Dominic Thiem (Austria) v Tennys Sandgren (United States)
