2016 AUSTRALIAN OPEN
FIRST HALF
FIRST QUARTER
Novak Djokovic is a heavy favorite, essentially dominating the hard courts. He has won the Aussie Open five times, having won in 2015 over Andy Murray in the final. Last year on the hard courts outdoors, he also won Indian Wells, Miami, the US Open, Beijing and Shanghai. Last week, he won Doha, destroying Rafa Nadal. Can anyone touch him? Probably not, but eventually, everyone can lose.
Djokovic will face the rising Hyeon Chung in the first round, which could be interesting, but Novak has much more experience. He should face Ivan Dodig, who can grind you, but he is simply stronger. He should thrash Andreas Seppi in R3, and in the R4, throw in Gilles Simon, who can be cagey, but he can’t out hit him. In the quarters, he will likely face Kei Nishikori, but the Japanese could go down against Benoit Paire, who beat him Tokyo. Jo Tsonga is around ,but he hasn’t done anything lately. Djokovic will clash against Nishikori and he realizes that if he wants to win a major for the first time, he really has to go for it and make sure not to get hurt. Djokovic will outlast him in five dramatic sets.
SEMIFINAL: Djokovic.
GREAT FIRST ROUND:
Nishikori vs. Philip Kohlschreiber with the German loves to slug.
SECOND QUARTER
Roger Federer could face Grigor Dimitrov in the 3rd round, which it will certainly be a tremendous match, assuming that they get there. The Swiss loves variety and cialis veritable he will get that, likely playing Alexandr Dolgopolov in R2. Dolgopolov loves to slice and mix it up, but Federer has a bigger forehand and serve. Then he should play Dimitrov, who he beat him in Brisbane in 3 tough sets. The Bulgarian is improving once again and without a doubt, he doesn’t back off at all. However, Federer knows how to attack him and when he needs to back off. In the fifth set, Federer will know which way to go. In the fourth round, he will have to face another youngest, Dominic Thiem, whom he out stroked him in Brisbane. It is possible that the flashy David Goffin will get there, but while Thiem can sit way back in the court, he can rip his strokes. This time, the Austria will grab a set, but Federer will get into the quarters.
Who will face him in the quarters? The controversial Nick Kyrgios can go off, but he is an excellent young player. Kyrgios doesn’t have a coach, but somebody must be talking to him during the AO, perhaps with the soon-to-retire Lleyton Hewitt? The super-powerful Kyrgios will overpower Pablo Carreno Busta, then Pablo Cuevas, and then knock out No. 6 Tomas Berdych. Then Kyrgios will face the 2014 US Open champ Marin Cilic, which will be very physically. The fans will be going crazy, cheering for Kyrgios, who will out-stroke him in five sets.
Can the 21 year old stun Federer? Yup. Even though Kyrgios didn’t play particularly well in the fall, and he hasn’t played a match in the ATP this year (even though he played in an exo at the Hopman Cup), he loves to battle at the Slams. He can crush his forehand and backhand, he has a huge serve, he can charge the net, and he can mix it up. Obviously, the 17-time Grand Slam champion Federer is still a better player than he is, but he is slightly aging and in three out of five sets, he can slip down.
SEMIFINAL: Kyrgios
GREAT FIRST ROUND: Thiem vs. Leonardo Mayer. The Argentine has slumped a bit, but he commander viagra generique youtube can drag Thiem all over the place.
BOTTOM HALF
THIRD QUARTER
Without a doubt, this is the most enticing quarter. There are a slew of big names that can reach the semis, including Stan Wawrinka, Rafa Nadal, Milos Raonic, Kevin Anderson, Gael Monfils and Jack Sock.
The No. 4 Wawrinka is slightly leading, as he won the 2014 AO [he beat Djokovic and Nadal] and last year, he reached the semifinal, going down to Novak. The fiery Wawrinka has much improved at the majors of the past two years. But still, he can be vulnerable. Sock has reached the final in New Zealand, and at this point, the American is ready to jump. He will stun Wawrinka in the third round, but it’s Raonic who is ready to go super deep: the Canadian will nail serve after serve and take down Sock in the Round of 16.
Then what? The 14-time Grand Slam viagra sans ordonnance Nadal is fighting hard, even though he can’t figure out Djokovic. Nadal has to go up against Fernando Verdasco in the first time, and while Rafa knows him well, in 2009, they faced off in the semifinal at the AO and the two bangers played over 4 hours. Nadal out-lasted Verdasco, and then he won the tournament, beating Federer.
Can he do it again? I can’t see it, but he should beat Verdasco, knock down Jeremy Chardy in the third round, and in the fourth round, he will club Anderson – assuming that Kevin had overcame the flashy Monfils.
But in the quarters, assuming Raonic is healthy, that he will negate Nadal in four sets. His time is come.
SEMIFINAL: Raonic
GREAT FIRST ROUND:
Chardy vs. Ernests Gulbis: because Gulbis is always crazy – and some times, a whole lot of fun
FOURTH QUARTER
Andy says that he badly wants to win an AO for the first time, losing four times in the finals. He certainly has a chance, but he has to keep his head in the game. In the first time, he will face the super tall and rising 18-year-old Alexander Zverev. Murray will win, but the German will come out swinging. He should control Sam Groth in the second round, and he will out-think Joao Sousa, but in the fourth rounding, it’s anybody’s guess. He should face Bernard Tomic, who has been playing better over the past 13 months, but he should not have retired on Friday at Sydney because he wants to make sure that he is totally healthy in AO. Tomic loves to mix it up, and he can crack the ball. Plus, at least on court, he is much smarter. But so is Murray, who knows how to attack him and mix it up. The Britain will take him down in four sets,
Who will meet Murray in the quarters? David Ferrer, who just loss against Sock and is aging. Maybe the wily Feliciano Lopez, the former USC standout Steve Johnson, or the huge-server John Isner? It will be Isner, who has been way overdo at the AO, losing some very tough losses over the year. Isner will get there, but once he gets on court against Murray, he tends to lose his head. Murray will get through once again.
SEMIFINAL: Andy Murray
GREAT FIRST ROUND: Lleyton Hewitt vs. James Duckworth. The former No. 1 Hewitt will retire at the end of the tournament. What better to go out on the bright lights at Rod Laver Stadium.
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