By Ricky Dimon
The sweet 16 is here and the proverbial second week of the Australian Open will begin on Sunday. Kicking off the action in the top half of the draw are–among others–Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Kei Nishikori, and Tomas Berdych. Federer and Berdych are on a collision course for the quarterfinals, but they first have to score respective wins over David Goffin and Roberto Bautista Agut.
Picks:
(3) Roger Federer vs. (15) David Goffin: Goffin vs. Dominic Thiem has been one of the best matches of a mostly drama-less men’s tournament. And the Belgian needed a good one, too, because he did not play particularly well against either Sergiy Stakhovsksy or Damir Dzumhur. Federer won in four sets in the third round, as well, in a good-but-not-great showing against Grigor Dimitrov. Facing his idol for the fourth time, Goffin should be less psyched out than he was in the previous meetings. But he is 0-3 lifetime against Federer and that will be 0-4 after this one–but not before flashes of outstanding play from both guys.
Federer in 4.
(9) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. (7) Kei Nishikori: These are two of the most talented, most injury-plagued stars on tour. Tsonga (knee) was the one who dealt with physical problems during the offseason, but now it is Nishikori (wrist) who is question mark. All things being equal, this should be a good one. They faced each other at the same stage of this same tournament in 2012 and it went to five sets, with Nishikori prevailing. Aside from Nishikori’s minor injury scare against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, both men have been in stellar form through three rounds. Tsonga, who loves it Down Under, is just barely a safer pick.
Tsonga in 5.
(24) Roberto Bautista Agut vs. (6) Tomas Berdych: I thought this was supposed to be Marin Cilic vs. Nick Kyrgios? Oh well. Bautista Agut has been on fire of late (he upset Cilic on Friday) and Berdych was too good for Kyrgios. At what point is the Spaniard’s run going to hit a roadblock? He captured the Auckland title, survived consecutive five-setters to begin this fortnight, and then ousted Cilic. With a 2-3 record against Berdych, Bautista Agut will certainly believe. But the Czech thrives at this event and his power may be too much.
Berdych in 4.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (14) Gilles Simon: Djokovic is dominating head-to-head series 9-1 and it is arguably even more lopsided than 9-1 suggests. That’s because the world No. 1 has won eight in a row at Simon’s expense after losing their first showdown back in 2008. Djokovic has done just enough so far in Melbourne to advance without dropping a set. When necessary, he will raise his level–and it may be necessary against Simon. Expect plenty of entertaining rallies, but Djokovic will obviously be way too good for this familiar foe.
Djokovic in 3.
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