RICKY DIMON’S PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR NADAL VS. ANDERSON AND BERDYCH VS. TOMIC

Written by: Staff on 24th January 2015

RICKY DIMON'S PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR NADAL VS. ANDERSON AND BERDYCH VS. TOMIC

epa04578026 Rafael Nadal of Spain returns the ball to Dudi Sela of Israel during their third round match of the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 23 January 2015. EPA/JULIAN SMITH AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

The fourth round of the Australian Open gets underway on Sunday and a blockbuster men’s singles lineup features Rafael Nadal vs. Kevin Anderson and Tomas Berdych vs. Bernard Tomic. We’ve already seen one major surprise involving Andreas Seppi and Roger Federer. Is it time to sound the upset alert again?

(14) Kevin Anderson vs. (3) Rafael Nadal

Kevin Anderson of South Africa jubilates after winning against Richard Gasquet of France in their third round match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 23 January 2015. The Australian Open tennis tournament runs from 19 January until 01 February 2015. EPA/Filip Singer

This is a nightmare matchup for Nadal. Anderson is big guy (6’8”) with a big serve and easy power from the baseline, who wields a clean two-handed backhand and moves well for a man of his size. He’s a poor man’s Tomas Berdych (which obviously doesn’t bode well for Anderson since Berdych is 0-17 in his last 17 matches against Nadal), but he comes into this matchup without the same emotional scarring in the head-to-head series that Berdych does. The South African has faced Nadal only once, so he is not going into this one knowing he is destined to lose–like he does when he plays Berdych (0-12 lifetime). He also has nothing to lose, having already turned in a stellar Australian Open that includes a rout of Richard Gasquet.

In other words, this is going to be extremely competitive–but Anderson won’t win. Aside from an illness-plagued five-setter against Tim Smyczek, Nadal has been better than anyone could have expected Down Under. A much healthier Nadal picked up the pace against Dudi Sela and is only picking up confidence with three wins now under his belt in 2015. Nadal in 5.

(7) Tomas Berdych vs. Bernard Tomic

I had Tomic in the quarterfinals from the beginning and there is no reason to change it now; not after an awesome performance against Philipp Kohlschreiber in between rock-solid showings against Tobias Kamke and Sam Groth.

Bernard Tomic of Australia returns the ball to Sam Groth of Australia during their third round match of the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 23 January 2015. EPA/DAVID CROSLING AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

But this is a scary proposition for the Aussie…and for anyone who is picking him. Along with Milos Raonic, Berdych has been the most dominant player in the entire Australian Open–including Novak Djokovic. While that makes the Czech an obvious favorite, Tomic has never been one to be afraid and there is no reason he should be now based on the head-to-head. Berdych leads it 2-0, but both matches were competitive four-setters at Wimbledon. At home in Australia, Tomic will have a better chance. Tomic in 5.

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

Topics: Australian Open, Bernard Tomic, Kevin Anderson, Melbourne, Rafa, Ricky Dimon, Tennis, Tomas Berdych

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10sBalls_com says:

January 24, 2015 at 9:49 am

@Dimonator’s PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR @RafaelNadal VS. @kevinanderson18 AND @tomasberdych VS. TOMIC- http://t.co/ICjJKsFTbr #AusOpen #Melbourne
dusanVemic says:

January 24, 2015 at 4:59 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: @Dimonator’s PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR @RafaelNadal VS. @kevinanderson18 AND @tomasberdych VS. TOMIC- http://t.co/ICjJKsFTbr …