First part of the Quarter Finals will be played on Tuesday,so let’s see what we have in store
(1) Novak Djokovic v (7) Kei Nishikori
Djokovic leads the h2h 6-2, but one of the most memorable upsets and wins of or Kei came in a Grand Slam action. Kei won in the SF of the US Open in 2014, his best run to date in any of the big 4 tournaments.
The Japanese hasn’t been troubled much in Melbourne, just a bit of scare with a wrist concern during his match against Guillermo Garcia Lopez prove to be the only one going forward.
He showed on the very next match vs Tsonga, a straight set win, that he is all right.
“I felt very good today, especially against Jo, it’s great to win in straight sets and I’m very happy to play a good match today to go into the quarter-finals,” Nishikori said.
“I am trying to think one match at a time. I don’t even know what round I’m playing and I am just trying to focus on what I have to do and try to get a good recovery for my next match.”
This is Kei’s 7-th appearance in Melbourne and he has already lost 2 times in the QF.
Surprisingly Djokovic was forced to fight and dig deep to steer away Gilles Simon in his 3rd round match. The Serb made 100 Unforced Errors and was his own worst enemy that day, but survived in the end in over 4 hours of battle
“I was obviously pleased to win the match,” said Djokovic. “But in terms of the performance itself, I haven’t done well at all. [You] can expect unforced errors when you’re playing Gilles Simon who is one of the best counter-punchers on the tour at the moment and he’s been around for many years… I honestly didn’t expect to make this many unforced errors. In terms of a level that I’ve played, it’s [a] match to forget for me.
Two of the biggest wins in Kei’s career and with odds 6.00+ have come against Novak – Basel in 2011 and the already mentioned US Open in 2014
(2) Roger Federer v (6) Tomas Berdych
Tomas has already faced some tough competition to get here, but winning against the local controversial hope Nick Kyrgios and in 5 sets against Roberto Bautista Agut will make him feel really positive about himself when he faces Federer in the QF.
“I hope (this is my year),” Berdych said after the match.
“I think this is the best base start to do that, so it’s a good one so far. I passed the first week and am focused for the second one. But still I have to go one by one.
“Roberto is a great player — he has improved so much in the last couple of months and is playing really good tennis.
“I’m really pleased with the way I handled the match. It was another good test on the way, so I’m glad that I went through.”
Berdych has been stellar while appearing in Melbourne Park in his career. He has been part of the QF since 2011 and has lost in the SF in the last 2 years. He has been priced in odds in similar range 3 times here and lost them all.
Federer crushed David Goffin in the 4th round and has lost only 1 set on its way.
“It was good [and I was] surprised it went as fast as it did,” said Federer. “To win the first two sets within 50 minutes is the best thing that can happen out there, especially with a late start and against a quality player. So I was very happy. It was important to keep the momentum going, keep staying aggressive and trying to get the match done in three. I was able to do that. I was very pleased.”
Asked about the upcoming match against Tomas, Roger added
“I have to play well,” said Federer. “I think the court suits him. I think this sort of flatter bounce and faster court is good for his serves, good for his returns. It’s a fast court [and] I think for his kind of game it’s good.”
Roger leads the h2h 15-6 and 2-0 in Melbourne (2008,2009)
(1) Serena Williams v (4) Maria Sharapova
Sharapova displayed a powerful game dispatching one of the young stars on the professional circuit – Belinda Bencic with 7-5 7-5 in the 4th round to book a re-match of last year’s Australian Open Final.
She hit 21 aces and 58 winners combined, but still was forced to work hard for the win
“These are the players that will ultimately take our spot, but not just yet,” she told commentator Rennae Stubbs, laughing. “She has a great game and she’s had a great [last] season. It’s always great to play against a player for the first time.”
“You’re always trying to improve,” Sharapova, a five-time grand slam winner, told reporters. “I got myself into the quarterfinal of a grand slam.
“There’s no reason I shouldn’t be looking to improve and to getting my game in a better position than any other previous round. It’s only going to be tougher, especially against Serena.”
She now faces her nemesis, and a player she hasn’t defeated in 11 years and lost 17 times in a row since.
Serena hasn’t faced much competition this year. After the 1st round when Camila Giorgi took 5 games in a set and 9 combined, she has cruised through her opponents losing only 8 games combined while defeating 3 players.
”I just feel like I’m really confident in my game right now, not against her or against any other opponent,” in particular, Williams said. ”I’m just really looking at me right now, and I feel like if I can just continue to play well, then it could be good.”
Serena’s coach Muratoglou showed skepticism about the Russian’s stats from her previous match
“Okay, we’ll see if she hits 21 aces against Serena,” Mouratoglou told CNN. “I doubt it.”
“I think for now that Maria did not find the solutions against Serena for a long time,” he said.
“I don’t know if they exist or not. The keys of the match I’m not going to say. But I think Serena has the keys.”
In odds range 3.00-5.99 Maria has only 1 win from 13 matches in her career, coming against Azarenka on Clay in 2012.
(3) Agnieszka Radwanska v (10) Carla Suarez Navarro
Radwanska’s undefeated run in 2016 almost was put to an end after inspiring new coming German Anna Lena Friedsam led 5-2 in the deciding set. The resilience of the Polish combined with the severe cramping the German was having towards the end of the match turned this bout around in a matter of minutes.
“I felt pain early in the third set, but I didn’t know whether it was cramping or an injury,” Friedsam told reporters. “It’s a bad feeling.”
“I knew it was going to be a tough one. She plays better than her ranking. She played amazing and I was in real trouble in the first and third sets – Radwanska told the reporters
Agnieszka won the final 5 games of the encounter and now she is back in the QF again since 2014.
Carla ended the dream run of the new Aussie Daria Gavrilova.
The Spaniard was seemingly out of sorts losing the first set 0-6 and being down 0-2 in the 3rd with chances to go 0-3 with double break. She sustained the pressure while Daria completely lost the plot after failing to build up the lead.
This was the second time in Navarro’s career that she comes on to win a match from losing the 1st set with a 0-6 score (vs Venus in Miami 2015 was the first)
Radwanska leads the h2h 3-1, but Carla won the last encounter after a 3 year pause and even served a bagel.
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