Notes from Down Under: Day 7 Preview

By Chris Oddo/ Saturday, January 18, 2014

Five round of 16 matches to watch on Day 7 at the
Australian Open:

See the Complete Day 7 Order of
Play Here

Serena Williams vs. Ana Ivanovic, 2nd Match, Rod
Laver

Serena Williams is 4-0 against Ana
Ivanovic and she has never dropped a set, so is there
anything that we can recognize in the Serb’s game this year
that points to a turnaround in the matchup? Probably not. But
this is the Australian Open, a tournament that has seen
Williams shocked before the semifinals in each of the last two
seasons.

“She’s obviously a great server,” said Ivanovic of the 17-time
Grand Slam champion. “For me, it’s going to be very important
to hang in her service games and try to make her play, you
know, and make more returns. Then again on my service game, to
try and stay composed, you know, and serve well, yet be
aggressive.”

Easier said than done, obviously, but it will be interesting to
see if Ivanovic can get into this match and get the crowd
drooling for the upset. If she does, and Serena’s nerves get
rattled a touch, we could be in for some drama.

Stan Wawrinka vs. Tommy Robredo, 2nd Match, Rod Laver
Night Session

Standing between Stan Wawrinka and a rematch
of last year’s Australian Open classic with Novak
Djokovic is an ageless Tommy Robredo,
who at 31 is playing some of the best tennis of his already
excellent career.

Remarkably, Robredo holds a 6-1 edge in the head-to-head
between the pair, so this match will be a test of Wawrinka’s
mental fortitude and belief as much as it is of his new and
improved tennis of the last 12 months.

Common sense says that Wawrinka is the better player with the
bigger, badder game, but can the Swiss overcome whatever has
troubled him about the matchup in year’s past?

Li Na vs. Ekaterina Makarova, 2nd Match,
Hisense

Many seem to be tabbing the Russian for the upset in this
match, perhaps based on the fact that Makarova has won five of
her last six matches against top five opponents.

But let’s not forget the fact that Li is 4-0 against Makarova
(though three have gone the distance) and she is fresh off a
long battle with another lefty, which should help her when she
takes the court today.

“At least today I played against a lefty, so I can [be] used to
her serve a little bit, because lefty is totally different than
right hand,” said Li after she defeated Safarova.

This one should definitely go three sets, and yes, Makarova is
in very good position to pull off the upset. She’s done it here
before, taking out Serena Williams in the
round of 16 in 2012, so why can’t she do it again?

Novak Djokovic vs. Fabio Fognini, 3rd Match, Rod Laver
Day Session

Come for the acrobatic defense of Novak
Djokovic, stay for the puzzling persona of
Fabio Fognini when he finally starts serving
up some of that diabolical shotmaking of his. And, most of all,
bring your popcorn.

Obviously Djokovic is the clear-cut favorite, and he probably
will prevail in straight sets, but that doesn’t mean that in
some strange way this won’t be the most entertaining tennis of
Day 7, and, who knows, maybe even all of week one.

There is something about Fognini when he pushes all his chips
in and starts to play his own special brand of gunslinging
tennis. And, if he does, it will more than likely force
Djokovic to trump the Italian, and therefore serve up some of
his most dastardly, death defying groundies of the tournament.

We can already hear the sneakers squeaking on the hard court
now.

Casey Dellacqua vs. Eugenie Bouchard , 7:00, Rod Laver
Night Session

This is a win-win situation for tennis fans. Either
Eugenie Bouchard, a teenager and one who is
blazing a trail for Canadian tennis, or Casey
Dellacqua, a tried-and-true tennis blue blood, who is
playing the tournament of a lifetime, reaches the quarters.

No matter who wins, it’s a feel-good, Cindarella story.