Australian tennis will be on tenterhooks today as its two remaining singles players attempt to make the last 16 of this year’s Melbourne Park major.
And the odds as well as the crowds will be firmly behind Alex De Minaur and Alexei Popyrin.
De Minaur is first up at around 2.30pm on Rod Laver Arena, where he faces Benjamin Bonzi. They have met twice, both times last year, and De Minaur won easily on each occasion.
He is, on paper, twice the man Bonzi is, ranked 24 to the Frenchman’s number 48. De Minaur is 24-years-old and has been as high as world number 15, but as with the crestfallen Thanasi Kokkinakis, is yet to go deep into a major.
De Minaur’s time, quite simply, is now and this is an opportunity to be cherished and grasped fully by the 22nd seed.
Should he win, then Novak Djokovic is the likely foe for De Minaur in round four on Monday. Assuming the hamstrung Serb overcomes 27th seed Grigor Dimitrov on Saturday in a match scheduled, as ever with Novak, for 7pm Rod Laver Arena.
It will be far from straightforward for Djokovic and an upset may well be on the cards.
Later, out in the wilds of John Cain Arena (JCA) at 7pm, Alexei Popyrin will entertain the American newcomer Ben Shelton. They have not met previously and Shelton, at just 20-years-old, is three years younger than the Aussie.
‘Big guy, big game’
As with De Minaur, this is not an opportunity to be scorned for Popyrin, who is world ranked 113 but is backed by Davis Cup teammate De Minaur.
“He’s a big guy with a big game and he’s very dangerous. He’s one of those guys that I’m sure no one really wants him on the other side of the court,” said Demon.
“It’s amazing to see Aussies do great. It makes me very proud and very excited because ultimately that’s going to be us, hopefully, flying the flag, doing Australia proud.”
Before Popyrin on JCA comes Holger Rune. Under the radar somewhat this AO, the teenage Rune is a potential winner should Djokovic fold under injury or otherwise. Rune should get past France’s Ugo Humbert without too much difficulty
Local loyalties aside, the Saturday night must-see will come in the shape of a 35-year-old Scot on Margaret Court Arena.
‘Fresh’ from seeing off Thanasi Kokkinakis in almost six hours very early on Friday morning, Murray returns to the scene of his triumph where 24th seed Roberto Bautista Agut awaits. Veterans both – the Spaniard is 12 months younger – they have met six times and have won three apiece.
Much will come down to how Murray has recovered from the Kokkinakis classic. Logic suggests he has no chance of getting himself in prime condition, but Murray no longer inhabits such primal thinking. It is impossible to guess at but, ridiculously, another Murray triumph is not inconceivable.
Aussie watch aside, lock onto this one. We may not see Murray again and this most resilient of men – increasingly lauded by many in Britain as his nation’s greatest-ever sportsman – is a treasure. Tennis fans are lucky indeed to live in such times.
Friday at Melbourne Park was strangely muted, the tensions of late night Thursday ceding to routine on day five.
The most notable to fall – and emphatically not an upset given the CV of her opponent – was the American Danielle Collins, who gave Ash Barty a good scrap in the women’s final 12 months ago.
Collins, seeded 13, went down to reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in three sets on Kia Arena.
It was Rybakina’s first match at the AO that she had not played on an outside court. Such downgrading is neither here nor there, she said.
“I honestly don’t care. In the end I’m here to play tennis so I’m super happy to get through to another match. It doesn’t matter which court I’m going to play,” she said.
Supremely talented and physically dominant, she is under the radar in Australia to-date. Does that help she was asked?
“Well, I guess it’s a motivation to win even more. Maybe next time they’re going to put me first match somewhere else, not court 13,” she said albeit smiling.
“It doesn’t really matter. I just want to win as much as I can.”
An opinion: The second round match between Thanasi Kokkinakis and Andy Murray that teed off at almost 10.30pm on Margaret Court Arena on Thursday should never have started.
It is an anomaly of the Australia Open that its organisers are not only yet to apologise for such a miscalculation but are actively refusing to rethink whether players finishing a match beyond 4am might actually not be the brightest of ideas.
Kokkinakis and Murray are toughened, experienced players, abrasive and engaging in turn, adults. They are also thoroughly professional and took to the court as asked without a public whimper.
Both men have spent much time, years even, out of their sport with serious injury. Murray even has a metal hip after the original one wore out. They are anything but the ‘give up at the first glimpse of danger’ sort.
Kokkinakis was desperate to make the third round of his home slam for the first time and Murray is desperate to prolong his playing days. Even to someone with just a passing acquaintance with tennis, a four-hour slog would have been the minimal guess at match length.
Loudmouth fans
MCA was packed in sets one and two, rowdy if increasingly speckled with hecklers who had clearly sunk a $12 beer or two. Or quite possibly 10. Both players would have grated at the incessant shouts of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” as Kokky was about to serve or receive.
Equally depressing was the blandness and lack of originality of the liquid fuelled loudmouths. Bring back the ‘Fanatics’ from a few years ago who at least rehearsed and choreographed, often beautifully, their interruptions.
Neither players nor fans nor TV viewers nor officials benefit from such late night crassness. So why set them up?
It is embarrassing to suggest that the US Open also holds late matches and so why not us? The Big Apple is full-on 24/7 and such inconvenience is part of its moxi. Getting home in Melbourne, for the fans, is not easy – rumours abounded that the massive rank of taxis outside RLA were charging $100 just to hike it into the CBD.
And who was watching at home on TV? Channel Nine has spent a fortune on television rights and the viewing figures for 4am Friday are unlikely to boast of money well spent.
‘Rubbish for everyone involved’
Condemnation was widespread with Andy’s brother Jamie summing up the popular vote.
“Rubbish for everyone involved – players/fans/event staff,” he said.
“A bit of a farce,” said Andy.
Tennis Australia is refusing to budge from the proposition that playing late can be a wonderful thing, but this is deeply out of touch with the popular mood.
Instead of putting the epic on another court with a 7pm start – easily done – it chose the most bizarre staging. Meanwhile, next door on Rod Laver Arena, Novak Djokovic was playing out the dullest of matches against France’s Enzo Coaucaud. And he was first on, the flop of a women’s single encounter that saw Ons Jabeur exit the Open followed.
Has Novak made a deal with Tennis Australia to ensure he is on RLA always? We don’t know of course and never will but we do know that the AO scheduling committee can occasionally be unfit for purpose. And Thursday night was such an occasion.
This is generally the most well run and engaging of tournaments but TA must waken to the fact that a match ending in sync with the dawn chorus is beyond farcical.
It invites ridicule that this world class tournament just doesn’t deserve. Or maybe it does.
Late, at 10.45pm on John Cain Arena, crowd favourite Frances Tiafoe – he of a curious multicoloured ‘onesie’ type outfit this week – fell in four sets to 18th seed Karen Khachanov.
It is players like the American Tiafoe who helped draw in a record 85,488 spectators yesterday.
