Wednesday Preview: Tsitsipas To Face Test, Djokovic & Federer Also In Action

Reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Roger Federer at last year’s Australian Open en route to one of his biggest breakthroughs, advancing to the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time.

The No. 6 seed hopes to go even further this year, but he’ll need to focus on a tough second-round test on Wednesday against German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber. The Greek star will try to maintain the form he found in his first-round win against Italian Salvatore Caruso, in which he lost only five games.

“[There] might be a bit of tension when you start a Grand Slam. You never know what to expect, in what kind of form the players are,” Tsitsipas said. “It is kind of a relief. I felt good on the court… I felt like my game was there. I’m happy to be in the next round. I hope I can increase my level, play better.”

Tsitsipas owns a 2-0 ATP Head2Head lead against Kohlschreiber, the former World No. 16, who is trying to make the third round of the Australian Open for the seventh time. The 36-year-old has plenty of variety in his game, with a crafty one-handed backhand that he can use to find acute angles, pushing opponents off the court.

But in his run to the last four last year, Tsitsipas showed that he is capable of playing an aggressive game style to take the racquet out of his opponent’s hands, using his big serve and forehand to set up rushes into the forecourt.

“I definitely feel like I’m more experienced now. Last year I did feel more [like] a kid who was trying to get confidence by doing certain things on the court,” Tsitsipas said. “Now I feel like I’m more mature and more conservative in my thinking. I also think what I feel now compared to before, I’m just very sure with myself. I don’t really doubt myself that much.”

World No. 2 Novak Djokovic and 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer will also be in action on Day Three.

Djokovic, a seven-time titlist in Melbourne, will play Japanese wild card Tatsuma Ito, who on Tuesday won his first Grand Slam main draw match since the 2014 US Open.

The Serbian was stunned here in the second round three years ago by Denis Istomin. But before that, Djokovic most recently lost that early at a Grand Slam at 2008 Wimbledon, when he fell to former World No. 1 Marat Safin. The 16-time major titlist battled through a tough four-setter in his opener against powerful German Jan-Lennard Struff.

“I actually like tough first rounds, in Grand Slams particularly. Historically I’ve had lots of success in Grand Slams where I had tough opponents in the first round because it gets me going from the beginning,” Djokovic said. “Of course you can always play better and I expect myself to be better as the tournament progresses, but it was a good matchup and I’m glad how I overcame the challenge.”

Federer, who has won two of the past three Australian Open titles, will look to move one step closer to 100 wins at this event when he faces Serbian Filip Krajinovic, who won his opener in five sets that took three hours and 54 minutes.

The 38-year-old Swiss, who is 98-14 at Melbourne Park, has won all three of his meetings against Krajinovic, with all of those matches coming on hard courts. In their two battles that came outdoors, Federer did not drop a set.

“I have to be careful. Round-by-round, point-for-point mentality,” Federer said. “I know other guys that are playing extremely well right now, so I think it’s just important to stay very calm about things.”

Federer’s Record By Grand Slam

No. 8 seed Matteo Berrettini will try to maintain the good level that helped him to a straight-sets win in the first round when he plays American Tennys Sandgren, who made the quarter-finals in Melbourne two years ago. The Italian is trying to reach the third round for the third straight major. He had not won a match at the Australian Open before his first-round victory against Aussie wild card Andrew Harris.

Roberto Bautista Agut, the ninth seed, completed his victory against fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez on Tuesday, and he will be back on the court Wednesday against American wild card Michael Mmoh. No. 12 seed Fabio Fognini, who finished off a two-set comeback against big-serving Reilly Opelka, will have another tough battle against Aussie Jordan Thompson.