There is a something special about the middle Saturday of the Australian Open. The tournament is still young enough to have plenty of action on the outside courts yet, by the end of the first week, contenders have already begun to emerge - and then move closer and closer towards the pointy end.
This Saturday has an appropriately stellar line-up on offer, starting with Serena Williams and ending with a double bill on Rod Laver Arena of Sam Stosur against Elena Dementieva followed by Rafael Nadal against two-time semifinalist Tommy Haas. Over on Hisense Arena, Gael Monfils and Andy Murray bookend a day which might makes it rather difficult to believe that, to borrow a boxing analogy, we are talking about the day’s undercard.
Which brings us to the tricky and entirely subjective business of picking a match of the day. The contenders are many, and while the world No.1 Nadal against a three-time semi-finalist like Haas is something of an unexpectedly early treat for the third round, the clash of the generations represented by Amelie Mauresmo against young Belarussian Victoria Azarenka could add a different dimension of intrigue and interest. Mauresmo is seeded 20 to Azarenka’s 13th, but the Frenchwoman will start as favourite by virtue of her two Grand Slam titles, including the one she won here in 2006. Azarenka, though, is more than capable of sending the 29-year-old out of the tournament and pushing herself through to the last 16.
Stosur’s status as Australia’s No.1 female player guarantees her the crowd’s support when she takes on Dementieva in the night session. The Queenslander will be glad of that, for she plays an Olympic gold medalist and one of the players with a mathematical chance of ending this tournament as world No.1. Dementieva hits the ball with ferocity and flair off both wings, and while her serve remains a notable weakness, she was good enough to beat all comers in Beijing, and has to be regarded as possible winner of the women’s trophy.
Murray’s meeting with Jurgen Melzer also holds the promise of an upset, for Melzer very nearly derailed the Scot’s run to last year’s US Open final, when he led Murray by two sets to love and was two points away from beating him in the third round. An antsy Davis Cup tie between Great Britain and Austria saw a bit of residual niggle resurface between the two players, and that should inject some sizzle into this rematch. “He has beaten all the top guys coming here and for me, he is the No. 1 contender to win this tournament, but I was two points away from beating him at the US Open, playing an unbelievable match,” said Melzer. “I outplayed him for three sets, and it is not easy to do that. It was one of the best matches of my career, and when I was two points away from winning, he came up with his biggest serve of the whole tournament at 5-5 in the breaker. But that's why he is where he is - at the top of the world and a great competitor. He is the hot favourite coming into this match, but I hope I get some chances and I take them. I am looking forward to playing him. There is always a little bit of aggression - he can get vocal on the court and I can as well, but as soon as we are in the locker room, it's fine.”
Let’s also give an honourable mention to two potential barnburners on Margaret Court Arena. The first is between big-serving Croatian Mario Ancic and clever, counter-punching Frenchman Gilles Simon. The second sees another Gallic hero, Richard Gasquet, play Lleyton Hewitt’s conqueror, Fernando Gonzalez. Either match could be a purist’s dream, and there is every likelihood that they will both be easy on the eye and hard on the nerves for all except the neutrals.
Match of the day? It’s too close to call. Roll on Sizzling Saturday at Melbourne Park.
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