How to watch: 6 pm to 9 pm East on the Tennis Channel and 9 pm to 7 am on ESPN2 in the United States; streaming in the ESPN + and ESPN3 applications.
When four title Grand Slam champions appear in a game order, you expect at least one of them to be a clear favorite to advance. In the round of 16 of the Australian Open on Saturday, this is not the case. Naomi Osaka, Dominic Thiem, Iga Swiatek and especially Novak Djokovic face significant challenges.
Djokovic struggled with an injured lateral muscle during his third round victory over Taylor Fritz and will need to recover quickly if he wants to challenge Milos Raonic in good form. But for others, the threat of elimination has less to do with their own problems and more to their opponents’ potential to play at a high level.
Here are some combinations to keep an eye on.
Because of the number of matches that circulate around the courts, the times for individual matches are the best estimates and certainly vary based on when the previous game is completed. All times are from the east.
Rod Laver Arena | 19h Saturday
Naomi Osaka x Garbiñe Muguruza
Osaka’s control in his third round match against the creative and entertaining Ons Jabeur was exemplary. Although Osaka struggled to earn points on his second serve, his first serve was enough to win eight aces during a two-set win.
Garbiñe Muguruza, last year’s Australian Open finalist, lost just 10 games on his way to the round of 16. Muguruza took the initiative at the start of each match, using his powerful ground strokes to dictate points and create relatively easy winners.
This confrontation between two experts on the hard court could easily have been a Grand Slam final and shows the quality of the tennis being played on the WTA tour. Tonight’s departure should be an excellent closing for the first week of action.
Margaret Court Arena | 9pm Friday
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Aslan Karatsev
Qualifying Aslan Karatsev is playing for the first time in the main draw in an important event and has not lost a set, even after knocking out eighth seed Diego Schwartzman. Karatsev’s powerful and well-placed serves have been a distinct advantage, forcing his opponents to retreat on Melbourne Park’s fast courts.
Karatsev was a promising young player in 2017, before a knee injury pushed him aside. He hasn’t played an ATP level event for three years. After his performance in Australia, Karatsev is guaranteed in the top 100, and we will see more of the Russian without him having to fight in the qualifying rounds.
In the third round, Felix Auger-Aliassime, the 20th seed, finally managed to defeat his Canadian compatriot Denis Shapovalov. Auger-Aliassime made it to the round of 16 at the United States Open before losing to Thiem and now aims to advance to his Grand Slam quarterfinals.
Rod laver Arena | 23h Saturday
Dominic Thiem vs Grigor Dimitrov
Thiem, the third seed, came from two sets against Nick Kyrgios in the third round on Friday night. Thiem won the United States Open in September and reached the final of the ATP Finals, crowning his best season on the tour.
Grigor Dimitrov, the 18th seed and winner of the 2017 ATP Finals, never made it to the final of a Grand Slam tournament. He had a relatively easy race to the round of 16, beating 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic in three sets and playing just seven games in the third round before his opponent Pablo Carreño Busta retired by disease.
Dimitrov won most of his matches against Thiem, but the last two faced off at the 2019 Paris Masters. Although Thiem is in better shape now, Dimitrov is well rested and can take Thiem down with an aggressive base game.
Rod Laver Arena | 3 am Sunday
Iga Swiatek vs Simona Halep
Swiatek, the 15th seed, won his first Grand Slam title at the French Open in October. The 19-year-old will again meet Simona Halep, second seed, in the round of 16. In Paris, Swiatek dismounted Halep, losing only three games, as she used a variety of powerful rally balls and cleverly disguised drop shots to upset her opponent. It was a reversal of their meeting at the French Open in 2019, when Swiatek won just one game.
Halep, the two-time champion, was a semi-finalist at the Australian Open last year. His aggressive base game is favored on hard courts, but not much. Swiatek’s mental stamina and consistency can allow her to stay in the stitches for much longer, even when she’s on the back foot.
Here are some more combinations to keep an eye on.
Hsieh Su-wei vs Marketa Vondrousova – 19h
Aryna Sabalenka vs Serena Williams – 9 pm
Alexander Zverev v Dusan Lajovic – 2:30
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic – 5h