AO Day 4: Ghosts of Tsonga’s Past

Hi All. Galileo here.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is the player who most deserves a slam but will not get one. If not for Nole and Roger Federer he would probably have one. His rivalry with Nole has gone from the hot shot kid against the dude who bounces the ball too much to upset bids in Paris and London that fell short to now, the final curtain.

The first man to come back to beat Federer from two sets down and a winner against Djokovic in Melbourne Park in 2010, he is a special player. We had the final chapter in a storied rivalry yesterday and it really is sad.

It is hard to see JO-Willy returning his beautiful, booming best. His quarterfinal with Fernando Verdasco at the 2009 Australian Open is one of the great underrated four-setters of all time. Certainly of this generation. Now let’s have a quick whizz around the matches and see what happened.

*SUICIDE POOL PICKS*
MS 1st Rd: CORIC [11] d. [PR] DARCIS {W}
MS 2nd Rd: CARRENO BUSTA [23] D. IVASHKA {W}
MS 3rd Rd: Khachanov [10] d. [22] BAUTISTA AGUT
==
WS 1st Rd: MUGURUZA [18[ D. ZHENG {W}
WS 2nd Rd: Giorgi [27] d. [Q] SWIATEK {W}
WS 3rd Rd: GARCIA [19] D. COLLINS


RLA: RAONIC D. WAWRINKA
Milos Raonic outlasted Stan Wawrinka 6-7[4], 7-6[6], 7-6[11], 7-6[5]. It was razor tight, with two breaks apiece and just two points in it [163 for the Canadian, 161 for his opponent] that delivered on what it promised. Raonic has been red hot lately and it showed. Wawrinka is still coming back, still an unknown quantity. It was a cracking match, with Raonic’s big flat strokes contrasting nicely with the Swiss player's guile and spin. With 84 winners to 44 errors, it is clear Raonic is now right where he needs to be. Wawrinka’s 66-29 isn’t too shabby either, though. Now he must play Pierre-Hugues Herbert for a place in the fourth round.

RLA: DJOKOVIC D. TSONGA
So this is how the story ends. Nole cruised to a 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 win over Tsonga. You know the Frenchman’s career is done when he’s hitting less aces than Djokovic. He hit less winners and lost the break war 5-2. The Serbian knew it would be tricky and swiftly, brutally, put him to the sword. The Tsonga forehand wasn’t as effective as we remember it. 54 percent of first serves in from Tsonga gave Djokovic an opening and he took it. The Frenchy will be 34 in April. It is now a question of which French tournament the world number 177 will retire at. This BACKSPINNER’S money is on Bercy. Denis Shapovalov awaits in the next round. The 25th seed has not dropped a set yet. He has nothing to lose and a huge game.

MCA: NISHIKORI D. KARLOVIC
Ivo Karlovic holds the aces record in a match at the Aussie Open: 75. At the end of the fourth set against Nishikori he hit six in a row. He hit 59 in total in this match. It was in vain, however, as he fell to the Japanese star 6-3, 7-6[6], 5-7, 5-7, 7-6[10-7]. At the age of almost 40 [next month] Dr. Ivo still has it. Kei Nishikori needs a big result at a slam soon. They have been few and far between. His ground game appears to be working but is his fragile conditioning improved? Fun stats- Karlovic’s fastest serve was 27 KM’s faster, his average first serve was 33 KM’S quicker and his average 2nd serve speed? Try 43. That’s why Dr. Ivo is a bad matchup for Nishikori. Next for the 8th seed is Joao Sousa. He should have an easier time there.

MCA: ZVEREV D. CHARDY
Jeremy Chardy is a good player. But Alex Zverev is elite. And yet he always struggles at slams. He cannot put together a good run full of straightforward matches. He won the first two sets 7-6[5], 6-4. Then he crumbled like French cheese. Chardy took the next two 7-5, 7-6[6]. Fortunately the 4th seed was able to rebound and take the final set 6-1. He won the breaks battle by a score of 5-3. But this isn’t about stats. This is about how inept the German is in slams. He cannot put together a good run. It needs to improve, to get better. He needs to find coping methods. Alex Bolt is next and he’s a WC who has just played a five setter against Gilles Simon. He has to show it and smash the young Aussie.

MELBOURNE ARENA: POPYRIN D. THIEM
Thiem’s injury woes continued, as he retired down two sets and a break. Alexei Popyrin and Alex Bolt combined for two dramatic upsets of favoured opponents. Popyrin will go on to play Lucas Pouille in the next round. Borna Coric, seeded 11, is lurking but the path to the quarterfinals is open to the youngster. Bolt defeated Gilles Simon in five and saved four match points on his way, too. Bolt will have a shot against a wobbly Zverev, especially during a night match with a home crowd. The Thiem injury has not yet been disclosed but it could be the old ankle injury playing up.


Thanks and visit WTA BACKSPIN.

Read more!