Today the men’s Australian Open draw came out and there are some excited matches to look forward to. Here are some of the upcoming matches, and potential ones down the road, that we’ve pinpointed as not only must-watches but ultimate title deciders. To make this easy I’ll refer to each quarter of the draw by the top seed.
Novak Djokovic (1) Quarter of the Draw
From an American point of view there are two interesting match-ups for unseeded Noah Rubin against Benoit Paire (17) and Dennis Kudla against Filip Kranjinovic. It’s a good test for the youngster Rubin while Kudla who had a career year last year will be hoping to get off to a good start this year.
As far as the favorites of this quarter of the draw go, Djokovic shouldn’t have any problem getting to the semi final. He most likely will meet up with either Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9) or Kei Nishikori (7) in the quarterfinal which would represent an entertaining match. Nishikori specifically will be looking to bounce back after not getting past the quarterfinal stage of any Grand Slam last in 2015, in what was supposed to be his breakout season.
Semifinalist prediction: Novak Djokovic
Roger Federer (3) Quarter of the Draw
Federer aside, this may be the hardest quarter of the draw with the likes of Grigor Dimitrov (27), Dominic Thiem (19), David Goffin (15), Marin Cilic (12), Nick Kyrgios (27) and Tomas Berdych (6) all vying for a spot in the semifinals. For selfish reasons I would like to see the Australian bad boy/train-wreck Nick Kyrgios make a run but he still needs time for his game to catch up with his antics.
Also Kyrgios would need to get through Tomas Berdych to make an sort of run which seems unlikely when you consider Berdych has been to at least the quarterfinals ever year since 2011. This is a compelling quarter of the draw because Bedych had his best Grand Slam result of 2015 in Melbourne reaching the semifinals while Federer had his worst there, falling in the third round to Seppi. Prior to last year however, 2003 was the last time Federer failed to make it to the semifinals. I expect him to bounce back this year.
Semifinalist prediction: Roger Federer
Stan Wawrinka (4) Quarter of the Draw
With two majors in the last year (more than Nadal, Federer, and Murray combined during that time) are we ready to firmly put Stan Wawrinka as one of the favorites for every Grand Slam? He has still only ever been to those two finals, which he won, but has always enjoyed success in Australia. The highest seed he’d face prior the quarterfinal is Milos Raonic (13) who he has beat all four times they have played.
All the said, the real intrigue from this quarter of the draw comes from the biggest enigma coming into the 2016 season, Rafa Nadal. 2015 was the worst season to date for Nadal but he acknowledged that is goal was to round into form come 2016 which he seems to have done, with a few final appearances and a top 5 ranking to round out the year. Ever since Wawrinka got over the Nadal jinx in the 2014 Australian Open final they have split results in four matches. If they do meet in the quarterfinals Nadal will be confident after just beating Wawrinka at the ATP World Tour Finals.
Semifinalist prediction: Rafa Nadal
Andy Murray (2) Quarter of the Draw
There are a few intriguing story lines from the first round alone: Llyeton Hewitt playing for the final time at the Australian Open against fellow Australian and hitting partner James Duckworth, two American’s, Steve Johnson (31) and John Isner (10), looking to make waves early in 2016 and Andy Murray facing off against the best young player in the world, Alexander Zverev.
When the dust settles and the articles of farewells (Hewitt) and hope (Americans) are written, I expect to see Andy Murray the man to represent this side of the draw. Throughout his career Murray has been most consistent at the Australian Open appearing in the finals four of the last six years. Even though Murray didn’t win a Grand Slam last year he compiled his best season record to date and finished #2 in the world for the first time in his career. Similar to Nadal, I expect Murray to ride that momentum to a spot in the semifinal.
Semifinal prediction: Andy Murray
