2010 Australian Open – Nick’s Picks – Men’s Singles Round 2

Stay tuned to Nick’s Pick throughout the 2010 Australian Open for in-depth coverage of the tournament!

Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) vs. Donald Young (USA)

Hometown favorite, Hewitt, advanced to the second round with a straight set win over Ricardo Hocevar of Brazil. Hewitt was a finalist here back in 2005, where he lost to Marat Safin in four sets. Since then his best result was back in 2008 when he reached the fourth round. A potential fourth round match with Federer is looming this year.

This is the first time that Young has advanced past the first round of a Grand Slam since the 2007 US Open. He qualified to get in and then beat Christophe Rochus in the first round in four sets. A win here would truly be the biggest of his career.

Match-Up:

Hewitt is 1-0 against Young, with that win coming last year in Washington. This match is very interesting because you’ve got the youngster with loads of potential on one side and the veteran Australian hero on the other. Young is going to have to play the match of his life to win this. Hewitt has the crowd behind him, is full of confidence and is playing great tennis right now. He is standing closer to the baseline and I haven’t seen him play this aggressive in quite some time. You can’t question Young’s strokes, but he has had so many off-court distractions that he hasn’t hit his potential yet. I look for Young to give him a match, but Hewitt will advance.

Nick’s Pick – Hewitt in 3 sets

Tommy Haas (GER) vs. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)

After dropping the opening set in a tiebreaker to Simon Greul in the first round, Haas refocused and only lost seven games in the next three sets. He is a three-time semifinalist down-under, having last reached it in 2007.

Tipsarevic knocked off young American, Ryan Harrison, in the opening round. Tipsarevic reached the third round back in 2008, but has never been further. In fact, Tipsarevic has never been further then the fourth round in any Grand Slam in his career.

Match-Up:

Haas and Tipsarevic are 1-1 against each other, but they haven’t played since 2007. I spent many hours with Haas at the Academy in the last couple of months. He is playing some of the best tennis of his career right now and is extremely focused mentally. He is coming into the net more and his serve is working. Tipsarevic is a streaky player, and when he is on, he is on. He covers the court extremely well and has solid groundstrokes. I just feel like Haas has too much for Tipsarevic and will be able to break him down.

Nick’s Pick – Haas in 4 sets

James Blake (USA) vs. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)

Blake comes into the tournament ranked #45 in the world, which is the lowest he’s been since August of 2005. He’s a former Australian Open quarterfinalist, but he hasn’t looked like the same guy who was once ranked #4 in the world for quite some time. He rolled over veteran Frenchman Arnaud Clement in the first round, and a win here would certainly give him the confidence he’s been looking for.

del Potro needed four sets to shake the pesky American Michael Russell in the first round, and now he will get another tough American in round two. Like Blake, he’s been to the quarterfinals down under, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him playing there again. The one thing you have to watch out for with del Potro is that he has a wrist injury, so keep an eye out for that.

Match-Up:

This is the second meeting between Blake and del Potro, with Blake holding a 1-0 lead. Everyone keeps asking if Blake’s career is over, but I still think he has more left in the tank. He has a solid game, moves well, and is very aggressive. He knows what it takes to win a big match, and has the experience of playing in the later stages of Grand Slams. This is going to be a tough match for del Potro, but if his wrist isn’t bothering him he should be okay. He has more firepower than Blake, his movement has improved, and he can hit basically every shot in the book. His serve is top-notch and there really isn’t a weakness in his game. I see Blake winning a set, but del Potro will win the match.

Nick’s Pick – del Potro in 4 sets

Marin Cilic (CRO) vs. Bernard Tomic (AUS)

Cilic had his coming out party back in 2008 at the Australian Open, knocking out two seeds including 2007 finalist Fernando Gonzalez. Since then, he has continued his ascension in the rankings and is all the way up to #14 in the world.

Tomic is the next great hope for Australian tennis, and at the age of 17 he certainly has a bright future. He looked good in the first round, taking out Guillaume Rufin of France in straight sets. He is already ranked #289 in the world and I am sure he will be making his way into the top 200 very soon.

Match-Up:

This is the first career meeting between two of the youngest, most talented players on the tour. Tomic trained at the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy for much of 2009 and I watched him develop many facets of his game. He has the ability to lull his opponents to sleep with his style of play, but don’t be confused because he hits the ball beautifully from both sides and has an improved serve. He needs to continue working on his movement, and he also needs to focus on what is happening on the court and don’t worry about the outside distractions.

On the other side of the net, Cilic is certainly one of the best young players on the tour. He has outstanding groundstrokes, a booming serve and I don’t think he is anywhere close to his maximum potential. He will look to control the court with his aggressive style of play, but he can’t let the Aussie crowd distract him from the task at hand. If he stays focused, look for Cilic to advance in a tough match.

Nick’s Pick – Cilic in 4 sets

~ by Nick's Picks on January 19, 2010.