Australian Open 2017: Wednesday Schedule, Predictions for Melbourne Bracket
The Australian Open is the ideal event for tennis fans who have a difficult time sleeping.
Those who can't or choose not to go to sleep can watch tennis all night and into the early morning hours as the first major championship of the year approaches full speed in the second round.
The time difference in the Melbourne-based tournament is the major reason as Wednesday morning matches in Australia hit the air in prime time in the United States. Afternoon and evening matches from Down Under are played in the early morning hours on Wednesday on the East Coast.
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Roger Federer has returned to competition in this tournament after missing most of the 2016 season due to a knee injury that required surgery. Federer is the 17th seed and will take on American Noah Rubin in a match that commences at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Federer came back after a six-month layoff to beat Jurgen Melzer in four sets in the opening round, and the 35-year-old was far from dominating in the match. While it may take him several matches to shake off the rust, he could be at his best by the time the tournament reaches the second week.
Federer was happy with his performance in his comeback match. "This match tonight was more about how I coped with my comeback," Federer told Greg Garber of ESPN.com. "I'm happy with how it went. It's only going to get easier."
The 20-year-old Rubin defeated Bjorn Fratangelo in five sets in the first round and could provide Federer with a stiffer test than Melzer.
| Jeremy Chardy | Kei Nishikori (5) | 7 p.m. | Nishikori |
| John Isner (19) | Mischa Zverev | 9 p.m. | Isner |
| Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12) | Dusan Lajovic | 9 p.m. | Tsonga |
| Tomas Berdych (10) | Ryan Harrison | 9 p.m. | Berdych |
| Lukas Lacko | Dudi Sela | 9:30 p.m. | Sela |
| Noah Rubin | Roger Federer (17) | 10:30 p.m. | Federer |
| Paolo Lorenzi | Viktor Troicki (29) | 11 p.m. | Troicki |
| Stan Wawrinka (4) | Steve Johnson | 11 p.m. | Wawrinka |
| Karen Khachanov | Jack Sock (23) | 11:30 p.m. | Sock |
| Varvara Lepchenko | Ying-Ying Duan | 7 p.m. | Lepchenko |
| Elina Svitolina (11) | Julia Boserup | 7 p.m. | Svitolina |
| Stefanie Voegele | Venus Williams (13) | 7 p.m. | Williams |
| Natalia Vikhlyantseva | Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (24) | 7 p.m. | Pavlyuchenkova |
| Alison Riske | Zhang Shuai (20) | 7 p.m. | Riske |
| Jaimee Fourlis | Svetlana Kuznetsova (8) | 9 p.m. | Kuznetsova |
| Angelique Kerber (1) | Carina Witthoeft | 9 p.m. | Kerber |
| Jelena Jankovic | Julia Goerges | 9:30 p.m. | Jankovic |
| Kristyna Pliskova | Irina-Camelia Begu (27) | 11 p.m. | Pliskova |
| Peng Shuai | Eugenie Bouchard | 11:30 p.m. | Bouchard |
| Carla Suarez Navarro (10) | Sorana Cirstea | 11:30 p.m. | Suarez Navarro |
| Diego Schwartzman | Steve Darcis | 1 a.m. | Darcis |
| Alex De Minaur | Sam Querrey (31) | 1:30 a.m. | Querrey |
| Daniel Evans | Marin Cilic (7) | 1:30 a.m. | Cilic |
| Andreas Seppi | Nick Kyrgios (14) | 2 a.m. | Kyrgios |
| Bernard Tomic (27) | Victor Estrella Burgos | 5 a.m. | Tomic |
| Andy Murray (1) | Andrey Rublev | 5 a.m. | Murray |
| Mona Barthel | Monica Puig (29) | 1:30 a.m. | Puig |
| Anastasija Sevastova (29) | Kristina Kucova | 2 a.m. | Kucova |
| Pauline Parmentier | Coco Vandeweghe | 2 a.m. | Vandeweghe |
| Shelby Rogers | Ashleigh Barty | 3 a.m. | Rogers |
| Samantha Crawford | Garbine Muguruza (7) | 3 a.m. | Muguruza |
Top-seeded Andy Murray will be in action at 5 a.m. ET against Russian Andrey Rublev, and it would be a surprise if Rublev causes Murray any stress at this point in the tournament. Murray was pushed hard by Illya Marchenko 7-5, 7-6, 6-2, and the British superstar is coming off a season in which he won nine tournaments and more than $16 million in prize money.
On the women's side, it may be a surprise to some casual fans that Serena Williams is not the No. 1 seed Down Under. That honor goes to Angelique Kerber of Germany, who will play her second-round match against countrywoman Carina Witthoeft at 9 p.m. ET
"On her 29th birthday, #AngeliqueKerber seeks a R3 present against countrywoman Carina #Witthoeft. Preview: https://t.co/g7PPZ1X73t pic.twitter.com/HCbdNyqQnU
— Live Tennis (@livetennis) January 17, 2017"
Kerber struggled in her first-round match against Lesia Tsurenko, as she was pushed to three sets by the 27-year-old Ukranian. If Kerber does not find her game quickly, she may not be in the tournament much longer.
Venus Williams returns to the court for her second-round match against Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland. The 13th-seeded Williams was pushed hard by Kateryna Kozlova in a 7-6, 7-5 opening-round victory, while Voegele needed three sets to get past Kurumi Nara. Williams and Voegele will meet in the Rod Laver Arena at 7 p.m.
All matches are listed with start times in Eastern Standard Time. Matches listed with p.m. start times will be played Tuesday night; matches with a.m. start times will be played Wednesday morning.
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