RICKY DIMON TAKES AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT FEDERER’S SECTION OF THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN DRAW

Written by: Staff on 17th January 2015

RICKY DIMON TAKES AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT FEDERER'S SECTION OF THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN DRAW

epa04564241 Roger Federer of Switzerland during the kids day at the Australian Open practice session at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 17 January 2014. The Australian Open tennis tournament runs from 19 January until 01 February 2015. EPA/DAVID CROSLING AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

The bottom quarter of the men’s singles draw at the Australian Open looks like rough one. You might call it the giant-killer section.

Tommy Robredo upset Roger Federer at the 2013 U.S. Open, Jeremy Chardy beat Federer last spring, Dustin Brown ousted Rafael Nadal from Halle last summer, Borna Coric and Martin Klizan took advantage of Nadal’s fall struggles, Nick Kyrgios memorably bounced the Spaniard out of Wimbledon, and Ivo Karlovic just recently took down Novak Djokovic in Doha.

Andy Murray (R) of Britain during a practice session with his head coach former French tennis player, Amelie Mauresmo prior to the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 17 January 2015. The Australian Open tennis tournament will go from 19 January until 01 February 2015. EPA/BARBARA WALTON

With Nadal and Djokovic elsewhere in the draw, it is Federer, Andy Murray, and Grigor Dimitrov who may have to deal with the aforementioned competition. As those three names indicate, this quarter is not only deep but also top-heavy. Murray is a three-time runner-up in Melbourne and Dimitrov seems to be on the brink of a Grand Slam breakout after reaching the Wimbledon semifinals in 2014. The Scot and Bulgarian are on a collision course for the fourth round, while Federer could face Karlovic in the last 16.

It’s not an easy draw for the 33-year-old Swiss, but he is heading into Melbourne in outstanding form.

“This time around, I’ve played so well,” he assured. “Also [I] was able to win Brisbane. Makes me feel more secure this year coming into the Aussie Open. I think I’m serving more consistent and stronger than I ever have. My concentration is there–better than it’s ever been. I feel I’m playing very well. If it’s the best ever, I’m not quite sure.”

Best first-round matchup — Andreas Seppi vs. Denis Istomin

What? It’s a fair question, as Seppi and Istomin are not exactly the most charismatic of players. Nor does the winner have significant potential to parlay it into a deep run Down Under. Take a gander at their head-to-head history, however, and you will see why this matchup is awesome.

Seppi and Istomin have faced each other four times at Grand Slams, a quartet of meetings that came in the span of five majors. That is unbelievable in itself, but get this: all four went to five sets. They split those showdowns at two wins apiece. A proverbial rubber match is undoubtedly destined to go another five, right?

Possible surprises — Federer and Murray should breeze into the fourth round. The same cannot be said for Dimitrov. A third-round collision with David Goffin is likely, and it’s something we’ve seen before—at the most recent major, in fact. The world No. 11 ended up taking care of Goffin in four sets, but not before the Belgian briefly took the match completely out of Dimitrov’s hands and served up a first-set bagel. With more experience now, might Goffin be ready to finish the job?

Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov returns a ball to Germany’s Alexander Zverev during their first round match at the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, 22 October 2014. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS

As for the Robredo-Karlovic section, Robredo’s health is uncertain at best and just about any match involving Karlovic can always go either way. Mikhail Kukushkin is looming near those two veterans and he is coming off a final in Sydney.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Andreas Seppi, Andy Murray, Atp, Australian Open, Denis Istomin, Federer, Melbourne, Novak Djokovic, Rafa, Ricky Dimon, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

January 17, 2015 at 1:11 pm

-@Dimonator TAKES AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT @rogerfederer’s SECTION OF THE @AustralianOpen DRAW- http://t.co/hb3LFVNAuy #AusOpen2015 #tennis #ATP
Dimonator says:

January 17, 2015 at 2:14 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@Dimonator TAKES AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT @rogerfederer’s SECTION OF THE @AustralianOpen DRAW- http://t.co/hb3LFVNAuy #AusOpe…
dusanVemic says:

January 17, 2015 at 2:43 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@Dimonator TAKES AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT @rogerfederer’s SECTION OF THE @AustralianOpen DRAW- http://t.co/hb3LFVNAuy #AusOpe…