Tennis News

For the first time in nearly two years, Kei Nishikori and Nicolas Almagro will cross paths on the professional tour, this time to determine who will advance to the second round of the tournament. The pair split their two previous meetings on the ATP World Tour and will now play the rubber match on a much grander stage. Check out the Nishikori v Almagro Head to Head.

Watch the match live here: Nishikori v Almagro

The Japanese No. 1 began his season with high hopes and looked promising during the opening week of the year. At the Brisbane International, Nishikori defeated Steve Johnson and Bernard Tomic to reach the semi-final round of the tournament. However, he would soon fall to Canada’s Milos Raonic in a razor-thin match that ended 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 6-7(4).

Unlike his upcoming opponent, Spain’s Nicolas Almagro lost his only professional match of the year so far. In Sydney, the recently injury-prone Almagro lost in straight sets to Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas 6-7(5), 4-6. He looked lethargic and rusty from his lengthy spell on the sidelines.

This marks the third time these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with the series tied at 1-1. Their first meeting took place in the quarter-final stage of Kuala Lumpar in 2011, which Nishikori emerged victorious in. Their second meeting took place in the in the Tokyo Open, which Almagro won in three sets. While the series may appear close, they are currently on completely different career trajectories. With that in mind, there is little doubt that Nishikori will emerge victorious in this third encounter.

Prediction: Kei Nishikori in Straight Sets

For the first time in quite a while, former world No. 1 Venus Williams will go into a Grand Slam event riding some significant momentum. Following her title victory in Auckland, Williams will look to follow up with a successful fortnight in Melbourne, starting with her second ever meeting against Maria Teresa Torro-Flor. Their first meeting took place in the opening round of last year’s Wimbledon Championships, which Williams won to take a 1-0 lead in the head-to-head series.

Watch the match live here: Williams v Torro-Flor

Following her impressive return to form in 2014, Venus Williams picked up where she left off and captured her first title of the season at the ASB Classic in Auckland. She defeated Nara, Vesnina, Davis, and capped it off with a three-set thriller against Caroline Wozniacki to lift her 46th career title. Given her undefeated run this season, Williams will be keen to keep that streak alive and perform at the Happy Slam.

World No. 88 Maria Teresa Torro-Flor has only played one professional match this season, as she lost to Bojana Jovanovski 6-2 6-7 (4) 6-3 in the opening round of the Shenzhen Open. The Spaniard will now be dealt the difficult task of toppling the former Grand Slam champion and future Hall of Famer.

The one-time Australian Open finalist will look to reach the second week of the event for the first time in four years, but will first have to deal with the obstacles in front of her, starting with Torro-Flor. She leads the series 1-0 and is more than capable of doubling that lead.

Prediction: Venus Williams in Three Sets

Crowned champion in Doha, David Ferrer will be primed to impress at this year’s Australian Open. The Spaniard, who is a two-time semi-finalist in Melbourne, will begin his run against Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci, whom he faced on six previous occasions. Ferrer leads the head-to-head series 5-1 and will look to maintain that stranglehold over their rivalry this week.

Watch the match live here: Ferrer v Bellucci

Following an 11-month dry spell, David Ferrer kicked off his 2-15 season in sublime fashion with a title win at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. The Spaniard, who had not won a title since Buenos Aires last February, defeated Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-5 in 1 hour and 29 minutes. Now, his 22nd ATP World Tour title, he will prepare to make a deep run at the Happy Slam.

“I’m very happy,” said Ferrer. “I put in hard work this preseason. It’s special winning this tournament. I was ready to play tonight’s match against Berdych – a Top 10 player.”

World No. 62 Thomaz Bellucci has only played one professional match this season. His lone outing took place against eventual tournament champion Jiri Vesely in Auckland. The left-hander will now look to overcome that loss with a staggering upset win over Ferrer.

This marks the seventh time these two competitors meet on the professional tour, with Ferrer leading the head-to-head series 5-1. The Spaniard has also won the last three consecutive meetings dating back to 2012, with the only loss coming on clay in Monte Carlo. Ferrer also happens to be 2-0 against Bellucci on hard courts and has never lost a set to the Brazilian on that surface. Given those lopsided stats, there is little doubt that Ferrer will excel in his opening match at the Australian Open.

Prediction: David Ferrer in Straight Sets

After breaking through and reaching the final of the Australian Open last season, Dominika Cibulkova has been unable to match that intensity at any other stage of the season. After a disappointing year, the runner-up will return to Melbourne with the hope of being able to replicate that run through the draw this time around as well. She will begin her campaign against a tough Kirsten Flipkens, whom she has encountered on four previous occasions and has split the head to head series 2-2.

Watch the match live here: Cibulkova v Flipkens

Having dropped out of the Top 10, Dominika Cibulkova began her year in Sydney, where she defeated Kristina Mladenovic 6-2 6-2 before facing local upstart Jarmila Gajdosova, who rallied from a set down to defeat her 1-6 6-3 6-4. It was a surprising end to Cibulkova’s attempt to garner pre-Aussie Open momentum, and she was forced to focus her efforts on training instead of match experience.

While Flipkens was at a different tournament that week, she also had a similar trajectory to Cibulkova, as she won her opening match against Johanna Larsson 7-6(1) 1-6 7-6(3) but then suffered a defeat at the hands of CoCo Vandeweghe 6-1 6-7(5) 7-5. It was a short stay in Auckland for Kirsten, but still gave her time to complete her preparation for season-opening Grand Slam event.

This marks the fifth time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour. Having split their previous four meetings, this will also serve as a rubber match of sorts – both to determine who takes the lead in the series, as well as who advances to the second round of the tournament. Cibulkova won their only previous Grand Slam meeting back in 2009, and their most recent meeting in Tokyo last season with relative ease. Given that, and her motivation to succeed in Melbourne and defend her points, expect Cibulkova to produce a better match than any of hers in recent memory.

Prediction: Dominika Cibulkova in Straight Sets

After waiting two weeks to begin his 2015 season, Ernests Gulbis got off to a less-than-stellar start, but will look to get back on track in the opening round of the Australian Open. The Latvian No.1 drew an interesting opening round challenge in the form of rising Australian prospect Thanasi Kokkinakis. This marks the first time that the two competitors will meet on the professional tour and will likely make for entertaining television.

Watch the match live here: Gulbis v Kokkinakis

World No. 13 and all-around oddball Ernests Gulbis took part in a surprisingly strong season in 2014 – a year that saw him compile a 41-21 win-loss record; claim two titles (Marseille, Nice); and reach the semi-final round of the French Open, where he lost to world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Now, he will look to add to his accomplishments this season and potentially break into the Top 10 on the tour.

However, the Latvian failed to get things going in Auckland, and lost his opening match to Czech qualifier Jiri Vesely 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.

Young local prospect Thanasi Kokkinakis will look to make his country proud this year at the Australian Open and prove he is also a young gun to watch out for in 2015. He already holds a win over Julien Benneteau this season but lost in the second round of the Brisbane International to Bernard Tomic in straight sets. The world No. 147 will now look to break through with a strong showing against an unpredictable and potentially vulnerable Ernests Gulbis.

This marks the first time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour and is certainly an enthralling opening round encounter that could make for must-watch television. Both are capable of entertaining tennis and that could lead to a fun match and a potential upset.

Prediction: Ernests Gulbis in Five Sets

After a near-perfect start to her 2015 season, Maria Sharapova will look to follow up with a strong showing over her fortnight stay in Melbourne. Undefeated so far this year, the Russian superstar will begin her campaign against Petra Martic, whom she has previously faced on the WTA tour. Sharapova leads the head to head series 1-0 and will likely maintain that unbeaten record against the Croatian.

Watch the match live here: Sharapova v Martic

Sharapova was impressive in 2014; she returned from a shoulder surgery and managed to win her fifth Grand Slam title. Unrelenting as usual, she maintained that momentum at the start of 2015 with a title win in her first tournament of the season. Sharapova defeated Ana Ivanovic, arguably her biggest rival of the last year, in a grueling three-set encounter that lasted a total of 2 hours and 38 minutes. After splitting their past four matches – all their encounters of 2014 – they kept up the pace this season.

It marked Sharapova’s 34th title on the tour – a phenomenal feat. This was also her first title Down Under since she won the Australian Open in 2008 – a match where she also defeated Ivanovic to lift the title.

The Russian will begin her run in Melbourne against Petra Martic, who reached the second round in Auckland – lost to Claire Feuerstein – and then arrived at the Aussie Open and worked her way through the qualifying rounds, dropping just one set in the process.

This marks the second time that Sharapova and Martic will meet on the professional tour. Their first meet took place almost four years ago at the Miami Masters, which Sharapova won with relative ease. Although several years separate their meetings, the results should not vary too much, as Sharapova looks to be in close to peak form and motivated to regain the No. 1 ranking.

Prediction: Maria Sharapova in Straight Sets