MyTennisLessons highlights some of the matches we expect will be thrilling on night three of the Australian Open and make some predictions about who will go on to the next round.
Roberta Vinci vs. Ekaterina Makarova (10)
In the past two years, Vinci has defeated Makarova twice and Makarova has defeated Vinci twice, so this is going to be a close one. Makarova made it to her first grand slam semi-final at the 2014 U.S. Open, defeating Eugenie Bouchard and Victoria Azarenka, so she’s proven that she can play at the top level. In the two tournaments Vinci has played in 2015, she lost to players ranked just above or below her in the WTA, so she may not be at her best for this match.
Winner: Makarova
Watch highlights of Makarova’s 2014 U.S. Open run:
Jarmila Gajdosova vs. Simona Halep (3)
Last week in Sydney, no. 62 Gajdosova beat top-15 players Andrea Petkovic and Dominika Cibulkova before falling to Petra Kvitova in three sets. The Australian is already off to a great start in 2015. With the exception of the U.S. Open, Halep had a great 2014 season, which culminated with a runner-up title at the WTA Finals. But it’s hard to say how she’ll perform tonight because she hasn’t played anyone in the top-40 this year. This will be the first time Gajdosova and Halep go head-to-head.
Winner: Gajdosova
Watch highlights of Gajdosova’s match against Petra Kvitova in Sydney:
Bernard Tomic vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber (22)
Tomic and Kohlschreiber have already played once this year with Tomic coming out ahead 6-3, 6-4. Besides his first-round match in the Australian Open and his loss to Tomic, Kohlschreiber has played just one other match in 2015, which he lost to lower-ranked Jan-Lennard Struff. In 2014, he had big wins over John Isner and Tommy Robredo, but didn’t do so well toward the end of the season. Meanwhile, Tomic defeated American Sam Querrey earlier this year and last fall made it to the finals in Stockholm, defeating top-40 players Kevin Anderson and Fernando Verdasco.
Winner: Tomic
Watch highlights of Tomic’s match against Kei Nishikori in Brisbane:
Nick Kyrgios vs. Ivo Karlovic (23)
Kyrgios, age 19, will face 35-year-old Karlovic in their first meeting. Last year was Kyrgios’ breakthrough season as he made it to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, defeating Rafael Nadal on the way. Karlovic beat Novak Djokovic earlier this year, and in 2014, had his best grand slam run at Roland Garros, ousting rising star Grigor Dimitrov in the first round. Experience may trump youth in this match-up.
Winner: Karlovic
Watch highlights of Karlovic’s match against Lleyton Hewitt in Newport:
