Notes from Down Under: Day 5 Preview

By Chris Oddo/ Thursday, January 16, 2014

Five matches to watch on what promises to be a blistering
hot day 5 at the Australian Open:

See the Complete Day 5 Order of
Play Here

Tommy Robredo vs. Richard Gasquet, 7:00,
Hisense

Tommy Robredo can tie Juan Carlos
Ferrero for third-most wins by a Spanish man at the
Australian Open with a victory over Richard
Gasquet, who is bidding for his 2nd consecutive round
of 16 appearance in Melbourne.

If this tilt comes down to a fifth set, Robredo appears to have
the advantage. The Spaniard is 14-4 in five-setters and appears
to get fitter as he ages. Meanwhile, Gasquet is 7-12 in
five-setters, but he erased a lot of doubt in his fitness when
he outlasted David Ferrer in five sets in last
year’s U.S. Open quarterfinals.

Has Gasquet finally turned a corner and is he becoming a
perennial top-ten talent rather than a perennial underachiever?
If he gets by the feisty Robredo tonight, the Spaniard will
have made his case for the former rather than the latter.

San Stosur vs. Ana Ivanovic, 1st Match, Rod Laver Night
Session

Who wants a piece of Serena Williams in the
round of 16? We will know soon enough.

Stosur, who is looking to reach the fourth round at her home
Slam for the 3rd time (she has never gone further), will look
to both embrace and ignore the home crowd, while Ivanovic, a
former finalist in Melbourne (2008) will look to play the role
of spoiler.

Ivanovic leads the head-to-head with Stosur 4-3, but the
Australian has won three of four.

It’s a tough one to call, but any way you slice it, this
promises to be an intriguing battle between two former Grand
Slam champions who are looking to catch lightning in a bottle
and run with it once again.

Novak Djokovic vs. Denis Istomin, 2nd Match, Rod Laver
Night Session

Once again, Novak Djokovic is smoking hot Down
Under, and the Serb will look to extend his 26-match winning
streak against his stiffest challenge of the tournament in
Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin. Djokovic is 3-0
against the bespectacled, mad-scientist looking Istomin, but he
did drop a set for the first time against him in Montreal last
summer before rebounding to win in three.

Can Istomin, with his powerful serve and aggressive, flat
strokes put Djoker on the defensive? Hell yes. But keep in
mind, Djokovic on the defense is nearly as deadly as Djokovic
on the offense. It will be a tough task for Istomin even if he
plays lights-out tennis, but he is talented enough to ruffle
the feathers of the three-time defending champion, and if he
does, this match will be worth staying up late for.

Angelique Kerber vs. Alison Riske, 1st Match,
Hisense

Kerber is the heavy favorite against the rising
American Riske, but don’t for a second think
that the Pennsylvania native is going to shy away from the
challenge of facing a top-ten opponent with a spot in the
fourth-round of a Grand Slam on the line.

Riske dropped her only decision to Kerber in Charleston in
2010, but looking at Riske’s results any time before her
Wimbledon breakthrough last year would not be indicative of the
true talent she possesses. She has reached the third round of
her last three Slams now, and even notched her first top-ten
win over Petra Kvitova en route to a round of
16 appearance at the 2013 U.S. Open.

Kerber may be the more accomplished player, but Riske’s feisty,
physical play will surely enliven this tilt. It’s a tantalizing
opportunity for both, because the winner will face the winner
of the Pennetta-Barthel match in the round of 16.

It’s Kerber’s match to win based on pedigree and experience,
but it’s a golden opportunity for both, and because of that I
think you’ll see a very spirited battle.

Fabio Fognini vs. Sam Querrey, 7:00, Margaret
Court

Don’t look now, but if Fabio Fognini can start
winning matches with regularity on hard courts, the Italian
could be shoe-in for the top ten by mid summer. Of course with
Fognini, you never know what to expect—except that it will be
entertaining.

With the hard-serving Querrey, one rarely knows what to expect
either—except that there will be a lot of big shots, some
hitting their mark and others not.

It’s a great opportunity for both, as neither has reached the
round of 16 at the Australian Open before. The downside:
Djokovic will be the likely opponent for the winner.