Australian Open 2015: Day 4 Schedule, Matchups Predictions for Melbourne Bracket
Day 3 featured close calls for big names like Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal, but no major upsets. As we roll into Day 4 at Melbourne, another set of the world's top players will try to keep the 2015 Australian Open bracket true to form.
Click here to see Thursday's full schedule.
The top seeds from the men's and women's draw are in action on Thursday. After dominant performances in their opening matches, both Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams may face their first test in the second round. Here's a table listing their matches, predictions and the same for two other intriguing tilts on the fourth day in Melbourne.
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Just below the table is a closer look at the four spotlighted matches.
| No. 1 Serena Williams vs. Vera Zvonareva | Rod Laver Arena | 7 p.m. | Williams |
| No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. Andrey Kuznetsov | Rod Laver Arena | 7 p.m. | Djokovic |
| Victoria Azarenka vs. No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki | Margaret Court Arena | 3 a.m. | Azarenka |
| Donald Young vs. No. 8 Milos Raonic | Margaret Court Arena | 3 a.m. | Raoncic |
The Top Seeds in Action
No. 1 Serena Williams vs. Vera Zvonareva
Williams and Zvonareva have met 10 times with the world No. 1 taking seven of those matches, including the most recent meeting in 2012 at the London Olympics.
Zvonareva is on the comeback trail after injuries have sidelined her for much of the last two years. However, this would be a tough assignment even if she hadn't skipped a beat. Live Tennis and others are happy Zvonareva is back on the court, but everyone seems to know she's in for an uphill battle.
"So good to see #VeraZvonareva back but it's a tough task to face #SerenaWilliams - #AusOpen R2 http://t.co/r7ZtupA9FZ pic.twitter.com/hvey27TOEd
— Live Tennis (@livetennis) January 21, 2015"
Behind a dominant serve that produced 11 aces and just one double fault, Williams took Alison Van Uytvanck apart (6-0, 6-4) in the first round. She showed no ill effects of her sluggish start to the tennis season. If Williams is herself, Zvonareva can't win. In the Russian's last victory over Williams back in 2011 at Eastbourne, the latter double faulted seven times.
As long as Williams avoids an abundance of service errors on Thursday, she should cruise again.
No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. Andrey Kuznetsov
Kuznetsov will get his first look at Djokovic on Thursday. The 23-year-old, rail-thin Russian is listed at 6'1" 156 pounds. If he hopes to pull the upset on Djokovic, he'll need to muscle up—figuratively speaking.
Djokovic easily handled Aljaz Bedene in the first round (6-3, 6-2, 6-4). There's no real reason to believe he should have a tougher time with Kuznetsov. The young Russian is too inexperienced to handle what looks to be an in-form Djokovic.
Most Intriguing Matches
Victoria Azarenka vs. No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki
Azarenka had no problems dispatching American Sloane Stephens in the first round (6-3, 6-2). The match took just an hour and 15 minutes to complete. Azarenka will face Caroline Wozniacki who had some issues with American Taylor Townsend in her first match.
Townsend was able to push Wozniacki to a tiebreaker in the first set before imploding with 15 unforced errors in the second to fall (7-6 (7-1), 6-1).
On name recognition alone, this second-round match sounds like it should be in the quarterfinals or later, but injuries have forced Azarenka down the overall rankings.
In the head-to-head series, Wozniacki has the 5-3 edge over Vika, though those numbers are a little deceiving. Two of Wozniacki's wins came in the form of walkover and early retirement. In completed matches, the series is even at three and Azarenka won the most recent meeting in 2013 at the Cincinnati Masters.
This is a crucial match as the winner could very well be on the way toward a fourth-round meeting with Williams. Despite the gravity and big names involved, this one won't be held at Rod Laver Arena where the showcase matches are usually played, and Ben Rothenberg of The New York Times isn't happy about it.
I believe Azarenka wins what figures to be one of the best matches of the day. Wozniacki didn't look sharp early on against Townsend and she had a wrist injury that forced her out of the Sydney International just before the start of the Australian Open.
We don't know if Wozniacki is 100 percent, and Azarenka looks like a woman on a mission to regain a top-five ranking. Vika will make a statement with a straight-sets win.
Donald Young vs. No. 8 Milos Raonic
At one time, Young was thought to be the next great American tennis star on the rise. At the age of 25, Young is still yet to advance beyond the fourth round of a Grand Slam. Every time a new major starts up and Young moves past the first round, as he did on Tuesday with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Tim Puetz, we wonder if this is the time when he'll break out.
His second-round assignment is no slouch.
Milos Raonic had a strong 2014 season. He advanced to the quarterfinals at the French Open and semifinals at Wimbledon. He's also beaten Young in both of the men's two previous meetings.
In each match, Young has struggled to handle the Canadian's big serve. In the last meeting, things were close. Despite losing in three sets, it took Raonic two tiebreakers to ultimately prevail 6-4 6-7(5) 7-6(2) at Basel.
Young squandered both opportunities to break Raonic's serve, and that squelched his opportunity to pull the upset. Will Thursday's match be any different?
No.
Stylistically, this doesn't appear to be a good matchup for Young. Raonic is able to play less-than perfect tennis against Young because he can fall back on his serve. That trend will continue as Raonic moves on.
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