Competitively they’ve played one another nine times before, but in the fourth round of the Australian Open men’s singles draw South Africa’s Kevin Anderson will try to break the winning streak Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych’s has over him.
There’ll be interest in the outcome of that match from the winner of the meeting between third seed David Ferrer of Spain and Florian Mayer, an unseeded German who had up until this year never made it past the third round at Melbourne Park.
Switzerland’s number 8 seed Stanislas Wawrinka walked through to the round of 16 when his scheduled opponent, Canadian Vasek Pospisil, withdrew from the draw due to a back injury.
On Sunday Wawrinka will play Spain’s Tommy Robredo for a chance to reach the quarter-finals.
And 15th seed Fabio Fognini of Italy will be in action against reigning champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
The two have been good friends for many years.
But Djokovic says that won’t get in the way of a good match.
“Once we get on court we are both professionals and want to win. He is 15th in the world and has been playing really great tennis. He’s a clay court specialist, so that’s where he made his best results. But lately, he’s been performing really well on hard court. He beat Sam Querrey who is a hard court specialist with a big serve and in form, and Fabio won. So, I don’t take anything easy and I try to do as best as possible. Eventually that’s what’s going to help you succeed.”
Australia’s last remaining player in the main draw, Casey Dellacqua, will play her fourth round match against Eugenie Bouchard of Canada.
The unseeded wildcard entrant in the women's draw, Dellacqua last made it this far at Melbourne Park in 2008, but failed in 2013 to reach even the second round.
Afflicted by various injuries over the years, Dellacqua says she has worked hard to regain her form.
“I guess when you work hard each day and you work hard to try and get as best as you can. It feels great to be back here. Obviously I made the fourth round here in 2008, but I definitely feel like a different person, a different player at this point in my career. I’m feeling rewarded for all the work that I’ve done.”
Two-time Australian Open runner-up, Li Na of China, will face 22nd seed Ekaterina Makarova of Russia, in the fourth round.
Sunday will also see Germany’s Angelique Kerber, the Australian Open ninth seed, take on Flavia Penetta of Italy - seeded 28th at Melbourne Park.
After sending home local favourite Sam Stosur in the third round, world number 14 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia goes into her fifth career clash against the world’s best women’s player, Serena Williams.
There’s been praise for the 32-year-old American’s condition - who had her best year in 2013, winning 11 titles, including the French Open and U-S Open.
The improvement has been widely attributed to the influence of Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Williams says she is grateful for his commitment.
“He’s a very serious guy. He takes his job and his life extremely seriously and I think he’s really motivated. And I think that’s great because we both are motivated to be at the top. It’s always good to have someone on your team who feels the same way.”
Share
