Australian Open

Epic battles

Simona Halep took out Lauren Davis 15-13 in the third set of their third round match.  Davis lost a toenail during the match but played on, and Halep played through cramps in the third to finally win.  Both players showed true grit, and the play after 6-6 in the third is worth watching.

Grigor Dimitrov defeated Nick Kyrgios in a 4-setter with 3 tiebreaks.  A very intense match with a lot of power serving and great shot making.  Kyrgios remained relatively stable emotionally throughout this highly charged encounter, which bodes well for him the rest of the year.  His shot selection is still a bit questionable, with a lot of over-hitting.  Dimitrov is really coming into his own.  Dimitrov will play Kyle Edmund next.  Edmund has a much bigger forehand than most people realize.

Other news

Djokovic cruised thus far and will play Chung of Korea in the next round.  Watch out for Chung, who mixed power with speed and finesse beautifully in taking out Sasha Zverev.

Nadal lost a set to Diego Schwartzman, a game but diminutive foe.  He will play Cilic next.  This is a good surface for Cilic, so this match might get interesting.

Federer next plays 80^th ranked Marton Fucsovics of Hungary.  It must be interesting to play a man as many tools as Federer for the first time.  Don’t expect Marton to win.