Notes from Down Under: Day 4 Preview

By Chris Oddo/ Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Five matches to watch on what promises to be a blistering
hot day 4 at the Australian Open:

See the Complete Day 4 Order of
Play Here

Rafael Nadal vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis, 3rd Match, Rod
Laver

The Aussies didn’t get what they had hoped for when
Bernard Tomic bowed out of his highly
anticipated first-round match after only a set, so maybe they
will get a better showing from a 17-year-old who is playing in
his first Slam? That is the hope.

Whether or not Kokkinakis is able to make a dent in the
all-world game of Nadal, it should be a treat just to see the
youngster (who has never lost a Grand Slam match, mind you) cut
his teeth against one of the best to ever play the game.

We’re not expecting it to be close, but we’re tabbing this one
as one to see because it’s Nadal. If Nadal walked out to Center
Court and changed his shirt that would be enough, wouldn’t it?
Throw in a 17-year-old kid eager to push the great champion and
we’re in business.

By the way, Kokkinakis says he’s going out there to win, so
there’s that. “I’m really happy I will have played two of the
greatest players to play the game (he also played Hewitt this
summer),” he said. “I’m playing Nadal in a couple days’ time.
I’m looking forward to the challenge. I’ll go out there to
win.”

Sloane Stephens vs. Ajla Tomljanovic, 2nd Match,
Margaret Court

Everybody knows about Sloane Stephens and her
immense talents and the expectations surrounding her, but not a
lot of people know about Ajla Tomljanovic.
Maybe today will be our day to find out just how exceptional of
a talent the 20-year-old Croatian is. She is playing at her
career-high ranking in Melbourne (67) and she has now reached
the second round in her last two Slams. Last week in Sydney,
she qualified and took out Daniela Hantuchova
in the first round.

Of course, all eyes will be on Stephens, who is defending
semifinal points, and has been touted as a future No. 1 by more
than a few tennis pundits. But don’t be surprised if
Tomljanovic embraces the underdog role and comes out firing to
make this a match.

Unstrung Heroes: Inside the World
of Racquet Stringing

Gael Monfils vs. Jack Sock, 4th Match, Margaret
Court

Playing for the right to face Rafael Nadal in
a Slam is like playing a final. Basically, the road ends here
for each of these players, so why not let the fur fly and see
if you can advance to play the World No. 1 on one of the show
courts in the next round?

Monfils laid waste to one young American in Ryan
Harrison in the first round, but Sock comes in with a
lot more confidence and bigger weapons than Harrison.

Still, Monfils is a world-class talent that has actually been
playing like a world-class talent this months. He’s healthy
(though that could change with the breeze), and he’s enjoying
his life on the tour without a coach. Maybe he is ready to do
big things this season, and if he plays this match up to
standards, he should roll over Sock.

Sock, who has had his fitness called out on a regular basis
over the last few years, may have to prove to the world that he
can hang with a phenom for Monfils, not just for a set or two,
but for five.

Monfils owns a career record of 11-6 in five-setters, while
Sock has never played one.

Marin Cilic vs. Gilles Simon, 3rd Match, Court
Two

Two experienced, well-heeled veterans, fresh off of
five-setters. Sounds like a war of attrition to me. One thing
to keep in mind is that Simon has won all three matches he’s
played against Cilic.

Alize Cornet vs. Camila Giorgi, 1st Match, Margaret
Court

Well, in our opinion, Margaret Court is the place to be. Two
highly entertaining players will square off in the day’s 1st
match for a spot in the third round, and we have no idea how to
call it.

Well, one has to think that Cornet is the favorite. She’s
seeded 25 and ranked 74 spots higher than the Italian, but
we’ve seen Giorgi rise to the occasion before (she notched that
huge upset in New York against Wozniacki in a night session
last year), and we’ve seen Cornet fall just short of the finish
line when she looked to have a match in her grasp.

Fans of the Frenchwoman will never forget the time she failed
to convert two match points in the fourth round against Dinara
Safina at the 2009 Australian Open, at 5-4 in the third set.
After the second she was so broken hearted she was all but
done. It was a sad moment for Cornet, who had done everything
to win that match, but she lacked the je ne sais quoi to get
over the hump and reach what would have been her first Grand
Slam quarterfinal, something she is still to this day in search
of.