AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS 2016 – RICKY’S PICKS INCLUDING WAWRINKA VS. RAONIC

Written by: Staff on 24th January 2016

AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS 2016 - RICKY'S PICKS INCLUDING WAWRINKA VS. RAONIC

epa05119938 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland returns the ball to Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic during their third round match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 23 January 2016. EPA/DAVID CROSLING AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Ricky’s picks for Day 8 at the Australian Open, including Wawrinka vs. Raonic

By Ricky Dimon

Rafael Nadal has long since vacated the bottom half of the Australian Open draw, but it remains loaded with plenty of talent. Andy Murray. Stan Wawrinka. David Ferrer. John Isner. Milos Raonic. Bernard Tomic. Gael Monfils. And then there’s…Andrey Kuznetsov? What the heck is Andrey Kuznetsov doing there? Well, he is there; and he will be a part of the proceedings when fourth-round action is played on Monday.

Ricky’s Picks:

(13) Milos Raonic vs (4) Stan Wawrinka: Sunday’s day-session match in Rod Laver Arena was a head-scratching error-fest, with 168 errant shots in total (including a ridiculous 100 off the Djokovic racket). Wawrinka vs. Raonic should be the opposite. Not only are these two guys absolutely on fire, but Wawrinka also won the whole thing in 2014 and has not lost to anyone except Djokovic in Melbourne since 2012. Quite simply he is at his best Down Under. Raonic beat Roger Federer for the Brisbane title and so far this fortnight has not dropped a set in wins over Lucas Pouille, Tommy Robredo, and Viktor Troicki. Wawrinka is sweeping the head-to-head series 4-0, but two contests have been extremely competitive. A high-quality five-setter is likely in store, with a slight edge going to the Swiss given his history of Melbourne success.

Wawrinka in 5.

(8) David Ferrer vs. (10) John Isner: There will be approximately a four-hour window to sufficiently analyze and predict this match. That window will begin when the NFC Championship between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals ends around 2:00 PM Melbourne time. Isner, one of the biggest Carolina fans in the world, will face Ferrer not before 6:00 PM (he even joked–or didn’t joke–that he would request a late start time so he could watch the game). If his beloved Panthers win, the 6’10” American will be on top of the world when he talks the court. If they lose, he will be down in the dumps. As for the actual tennis aspect of this contest, Ferrer leads the head-to-head series 6-1 and is coming off a blowout of Steve Johnson. But Isner has blasted 101 aces through three rounds and has not faced a break point. This is gonna be good–maybe even better than Carolina vs. Arizona!

Ferrer in 5.

David Ferrer of Spain returns the ball to Steve Johnson of the USA during their third round match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 23 January 2016. EPA/LYNN BO BO

(16) Bernard Tomic vs. (2) Andy Murray: Tomic has done well to reach the fourth round and finish as the last Australian man remaining in the draw. He went on a brief mental vacation in a four-set win over Simone Bolelli on Thursday but turned in a no-nonsense performance against John Millman two days later. The competition, however, gets better–by a heck of a lot. Murray has mostly cruised through three matches and he is almost always at his best in this event. Unless extracurricular factors get in the way (Murray’s wife is due to give birth soon and his wife’s father collapsed while coaching Ana Ivanovic on Saturday), the second-ranked Scot should roll.

Murray in 3.

Andy Murray of Britain returns the ball to Joao Sousa of Portugal during their third round match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 23 January 2016. EPA/LUKAS COCH

Andrey Kuznetsov vs. (23) Gael Monfils: Monfils vs. Stephane Robert has been the most talked-about three-setter of the tournament. And why not? It was an absolute circus at times out there between the two Frenchmen. Robert played like he was just happy to be there, while Monfils played like he was certain of the eventual outcome. Kuznetsov benefited from Nadal’s absence to reach the fourth round, but he does deserve plenty of credit. The Russian has been in stellar form this whole month. If Monfils treats this seriously from start to finish, he should advance in no more than four. But the Frenchman will be in trouble if he takes Kuznetsov lightly.

Monfils in 4.

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

Gael Monfils of France returns the ball to Stephane Robert of France during their third round match of the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 23 January 2016. EPA/FILIP SINGER

Topics: 10sballs.com, Andrey Kuznetsov, Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, Australian Open 2016, Bernard Tomic, David Ferrer, Gael Monfils, John Isner, milos raonic, Ricky Dimon, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis News

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Cortiglia says:

January 24, 2016 at 10:20 am

RT @10sBalls_com: #AustralianOpen #Tennis 2016 – @Dimonator’s Picks Including @stanwawrinka vs. @milosraonic
https://t.co/0RsueCeJq8 https:…
julieyas says:

January 24, 2016 at 1:28 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: #AustralianOpen #Tennis 2016 – @Dimonator’s Picks Including @stanwawrinka vs. @milosraonic
https://t.co/0RsueCeJq8 https:…