Hubert Hurkacz shall be in motion on Monday on the Australian Open in opposition to French wild card Arthur Cazaux. Daniil Medvedev may also take the courtroom for spherical of 16 motion, as he battles Nuno Borges for a spot within the quarterfinals.
(9) Hubert Hurkacz vs.(WC) Arthur Cazaux
When you’ve got by no means heard of Arthur Cazaux prior to now, it’s as a result of the French teenager had solely performed 5 complete matches on the skilled tour previous to this occasion. Nevertheless it appears he got here into the 2024 season with one thing to show. He gained his warmup Challenger occasion and justified his wild card for the Australian Open and has since defeated two seeded gamers in No. 8 Holger Rune and Tallon Griekspoor plus one participant actually simply exterior seeding (No 33 Laslo Djere).
Hubert Hurkacz hasn’t been solely convincing throughout this match thus far. He was two units to 1 down within the second spherical in opposition to Jakub Mensik and he dropped a set within the third spherical to proficient Frenchman Ugo Humbert. The excellent news for the Pole is that he served properly in opposition to Humbert; his success is basically depending on the effectiveness of his serve.
It has been an excellent run for Cazaux, however it’s unlikely that he will get previous Hurkacz.
Cheryl decide: Hurkacz in 4
Ricky decide: Cazaux in 5
(3) Daniil Medvedev vs. Nuno Borges
One of many largest surprises of the match thus far has been Portugal’s Nuno Borges’ win over Grigor Dimitrov, who got here into the occasion in nice kind. So as a substitute of Daniil Medvedev dealing with Dimitrov for a spot within the quarterfinals, the Russian shall be enjoying the 69th-ranked Borges. For reference, Borges’ earlier finest lead to a significant was spherical two–which he achieved on the 2022 U.S. Open and the 2023 French Open.
Medvedev was underwhelming throughout the first week of play in Melbourne. He was down two units dpwn to Emil Ruusuvuori within the second spherical earlier than he clawed his manner again to win in 5. The world No. 5 defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight units, however that was as a lot a results of the Canadian enjoying poorly than something Medvedev did.
Given Medvedev’s expertise (he gained the U.S. Open in 2021 and has been to 4 different slam finals) and Borges’ lack of best-of-five match play, it’s onerous to think about one other upset for the underdog. Anticipate Medvedev to dominate from the baseline. This one ought to be pretty snug for him.
Cheryl decide: Medvedev in 3
Ricky decide: Medvedev in 3