RICKY’S PICKS FOR DAY 3 AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS, INCLUDING ROGER FEDERER VS. ALEX DOLGOPOLOV & HEAPS OF OTHER MATCH-UPS BY RICKY DIMON FOR 10SBALLS

Written by: Staff on 19th January 2016

RICKY'S PICKS FOR DAY 3 AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS, INCLUDING ROGER FEDERER VS. ALEX DOLGOPOLOV & HEAPS OF OTHER MATCH-UPS BY RICKY DIMON FOR 10SBALLS

epa05108933 Roger Federer of Switzerland gestures during his match against Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia on day one of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 18 January 2016. EPA/LUKAS COCH AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

One day after Rafael Nadal crashed out of the Australian Open, Roger Federer and a whole host of other seeded players will be trying to avoid the same fate. Second-round action on Wednesday features Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, and Nick Kyrgios, among many others.

Ricky’s Picks:

(3) Roger Federer vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov: Dolgopolov’s head-to-head history against Federer is brief but also less than stellar. The Ukrainian retired while trailing Federer 6-4, 5-2 in the 2010 Basel first round. He also lost 6-3, 6-1 at the 2014 Indian Wells Masters. In search of a fifth title Down Under, Federer disposed of Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 in one hour and 12 minutes on Monday. Dolgopolov isn’t Basilashvili–in fact, he is one of the best unseeded players in the field–but he won’t have the necessary belief in this one.

Federer in 3.

(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (WC) Quentin Halys: This is going to be beatdown city the entire way. And Halys will probably enjoy every minute of it–even though he will be on the receiving end of said beatdown. Halys is a 19-year-old Frenchman ranked No. 187 in the world who had never won an ATP-level match before upsetting Ivan Dodig in round one. Now he gets to face one of the best players ever in Rod Laver Arena.

Djokovic in 3.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns to Hyeon Chung of South Korea in their first round match on day one of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 18 January 2016. The Australian Open tennis tournament runs from 18 to 31 January 2016. EPA/LUKAS COCH

(19) Dominic Thiem vs. Nicolas Almagro: The one-handed backhand display in this one will be sweet. Interestingly, those two shots have rarely been on tour at the same time. Thiem’s quick rise coincided with Almagro’s brief demise. Almagro survived 2015 without too many physical problems and should be back in business this season, but he is by no means all the way back to being his former self. Theim had to face one of the toughest unseeded players in round one and got the job done against Leonard Mayer in four sets. A similar–but perhaps not quite as difficult–test is likely in store for the Austrian.

Thiem in 4.

(Q) Pierre-Hugues Herbert vs. (WC) Noah Rubin: Hopefully Herbert will not get a scouting report from fellow Frenchman Benoit Paire. If he does, Herbert will be way too confident for his match against Rubin. After all, Paire called Rubin a “not good player” after the American upset him in three straight tiebreakers. But Rubin is good, of course, and Herbert will find that out soon enough. This is an intriguing battle featuring a player (Herbert) whose greatest singles moment (reaching the final of an ATP event as a qualifier) came at Rubin’s university (Wake Forest). Herbert already has four wins under his belt in Melbourne and will not be as mentally fragile as Paire was in round one.

Herbert in 4.

Denis Kudla vs. (28) Andreas Seppi: Of Seppi’s 21 career Australian Open matches, a hard-to-believe 10 have have gone five sets. In last year’s first round, Kudla lost to Feliciano Lopez 10-8 in the fifth. So don’t be surprised if another marathon is in the cards. Seppi has been far from dominant of late and Kudla played only two sets on Monday before getting a retirement from Filip Krajinovic. The American will be well-rested. That will result in a competitive affair, but Seppi’s consistency will be the difference in the end.

Seppi in 5.

(29) Nick Kyrgios vs. Pablo Cuevas: The 20-year-old is already no stranger to five-set drama at his home slam, but he took the suspense out of his first-rounder right from the start. Kyrgios routed Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 on Monday night. More of the same should be in order against Cuevas. The Uruguayan would be competitive on clay, but a hard court in Australia is the worst possible scenario in which Cuevas could face Kyrgios.

Kyrgios in 3.

Nick Kyrgios of Australia reacts during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain on day one of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 18 January 2016. EPA/JULIAN SMITH

Evgeny Donskoy vs. (14) Gilles Simon: Donskoy will gain ranking points regardless of his second-round result because he did not even get through one qualifying match in 2015. He opened on Monday with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Inigo Cervantes. Also needed four sets in round one, Simon beat Vasek Pospisil 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. The 15th-ranked Frenchman appears to be bouncing back nicely from dropping his Sydney opener to Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets. This will be entertaining baseline battle, but one that will almost certainly go to the more consistent of the two players. Simon in 4.