RICKY’S PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN QUARTERFINALS: FEDERER VS. ZVEREV, WAWRINKA VS. TSONGA

Written by: Staff on 23rd January 2017

RICKY'S PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN QUARTERFINALS: FEDERER VS. ZVEREV, WAWRINKA VS. TSONGA

epa05741305 Kei Nishikori of Japan reacts during his Men's Singles fourth round match against Roger Federer of Switzerland at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 22 January 2017. EPA/LYNN BO BO |

Ricky’s preview and picks for the Australian Open quarterfinals: Federer vs. Zverev, Wawrinka vs. Tsonga

By Ricky Dimon

The Australian Open quarterfinals will get underway on Tuesday, when there will be a decidedly Swiss flavor on the court. Both Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka are in action, having navigated very different draws on the way to meeting very different quarterfinal opponents. Federer is facing Mischa Zverev, while Wawrinka is going up against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Ricky previews the matches and makes his predictions.

Mischa Zverev vs. (9) Roger Federer

When the draw was revealed, it looked like Federer would have to beat Tomas Berdych, Kei Nishikori, and Andy Murray just to reach the semis. Federer successfully went through Berdych and Nishikori, but it’s not Murray who is awaiting him.

Instead, Federer and Mischa Zverev will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers on Tuesday. Federer dominated their previous two meetings, but the good news for Zverev is that mathematically it cannot get any worse. The 29-year-old lost their most recent contest 6-0, 6-0 on the grass courts of Halle in 2013, a result that was preceded by a 7-6(3), 6-2 victory for Federer on the clay courts of Rome in 2009.

Zverev could get triple-bageled here and it would still go down as the best tournament of his injury-plagued career. The German used a rare clean bill of health last season to qualify for event after event and it is only full steam ahead for him in 2017. Zverev kicked off his fortnight with wins over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, John Isner (came back from two sets down and saved two match points), and Malek Jaziri before stunning Murray 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday.

Federer also had to survive one five-setter on his way to this stage, which he successfully did against Kei Nishikori in round four. The 35-year-old also boasts more routine defeats of Jurgen Melzer, Noah Rubin, and Berdych. Thus it has been an encouraging comeback in 2017 for Federer, who warmed up for the season’s first major by going 2-1 in singles at the Hopman Cup–losing only to the younger Zverev brother, Alexander, in a third-set ‘breaker.

The Swiss was dominant in their previous encounters–albeit several years ago–and is no stranger to facing left-handers, having gone up against Rafael Nadal 34 times in his career..

Pick: Federer in 3

(4) Stan Wawrinka vs. (12) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Wawrinka and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be colliding for the eighth time in their careers on Tuesday. The head-to-head series stands at 4-3 in favor of Wawrinka, who has won three in a row against Tsonga. The current world No. 4 got the job done 6-2, 6-7(9), 6-4 at the 2013 Madrid event, in a four-set 2014 Davis Cup final rubber, and via a 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6(3), 6-4 scoreline in the 2015 French Open semifinals. Tsonga last beat Wawrinka 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the 2013 Monte-Carlo Masters.

As usual, Wawrinka is heating up as he progresses through a slam. The Swiss needed five sets to survive his opener against Martin Klizan before surrendering just one set in his next three matches combined–defeats of Steve Johnson, Viktor Troicki, and Andreas Seppi. Wawrinka is in the quarters Down Under for the fourth time in his career and he has advanced even farther twice (2014 champion, 2015 semifinalist).

Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland between games during his Men’s Singles fourth round match against Andreas Seppi of Italy at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 22 January 2017. EPA/MADE NAGI

Tsonga booked his spot in this showdown by beating Thiago Monteiro, Dusan Lajovic, Jack Sock, and Dan Evans. The world No. 12 cruised past Monteiro and Lajovic in straight sets before beating both Sock and Evans in four. This is Tsonga’s fifth trop to the Australian Open quarterfinals and first since 2013.

With Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray gone, Wawrinka has now become arguably the title favorite. Based on the fact that he is a three-time Grand Slam champion and boasts a 3-0 record in slam finals, it is safe to say he thrives on pressure–and the favorite status certainly applies pressure. Expect Wawrinka to raise his level even higher than it was against Seppi in what should be an entertaining affair with Tsonga.

Pick: Wawrinka in 4