Australian Open Fourth Round Matches – Federer eyes Quarter Final Spot

A big day in the Fourth Round of the Australian Open Tennis today, with World Number One Roger Federer taking on Lleyton Hewitt. Hewitt was the benefactor of Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis retiring injured half way through the second set of their Third Round match, setting up the Australian for a Fourth Round showdown against the Swiss Superstar Federer. Federer hasn’t been too troubled through his three matches so far, dropping only the first set of his first round match against Igor Andreev. Since then he has been able to enjoy a fairly comfortable ride, as one would expect. Now he will face not only Hewitt, but the home Australian support in Melbourne, as he takes on the World Number 22.

With Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick and Marin Cilic already through to the Quarter Finals, in form Russian Nikolay Davydenko will also look to secure passage, setting up a potential clash against Federer in the Quarter Finals. Davydenko, who won the Brisbane Open as a warm up to the Australian Open, plays 9th seed Fernando Verdasco, who has had extra rest. Spaniard Verdasco should be fresh, as his third round opponent retired after just one set. This is one match which really could go the distance, as the two fierce competitors will likely take it down to the wire.

Novak Djokovic, the World Number 3, is hungry for the Grand Slam title, and has been firing on all cylinders so far at the Australian Open. He plays surprise fourth round opponent Lukasz Kubot, who is there thanks to Third Round opponent Mikhail Youzhny not showing up because of an injury to his wrist. Kubot, ranked 86th, shouldn’t pose to much of a threat to Djokovic. Should Djokovic progress, then he will play the winner of Jo Wilfried Tsonga (10) and Nicolas Almagro (20). This is arguably the weakest quarter of the draw, and why Djokovic should pretty much be a shoe-in to make the semi finals.

In the Women’s draw, Justine Henin continues along her comeback trail, after she beat fellow Belgian Yanina Wickmayer in the Fourth Round. Henin has now landed herself a tough Quarter Final against Nadia Petrova who is ranked 19th. Petrova dug deep in her Fourth Round match to beat out third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, and will be brimming with confidence about her ability to take out unseeded Henin. China’s Jie Zheng, ranked 35th, is also in the quarter finals after a straight sets victory over 31st seed Alona Bondarenko. She will contest her Quarter Final match against the new “It Girl” of tennis, 58th seed Maria Kirilenko, who reached the Quarter Final after second seed Dinara Safina withdrew through injury. That was a major blow for Safina, who looked like a real threat to take the Australian Open title this year after failing in last year’s final. But now with Petrova being the only seed left in that half of the draw, we could be in for a surprise face in the final. Probably all the better if it happens to be Kirilenko.

In the other half of the draw, the Williams sisters play today, as they head along the same path which would set up a semi final meeting between the siblings. Both are looking in great form, and there is no reason why that scenario wouldn’t happen. Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki will have something to say about all that though, as she is also carrying some very good form, and the fourth seed should not be discounted. Wozniacki plays 16th seed Na Li in the Fourth Round. Perhaps the most interesting of the remaining Fourth Round matches is between Vera Zvonareva (9th) and Victoria Aaronson (7th). This should be very closely contested, probably with Azarenka carrying the slightly better form, but on the day, this one could be a thrilling drawn out affair.

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Men’s Fourth Round Matches
Nikolay Davydenko (2/5 at Boylesports)
Fernando Verdasco (12/5 at BetFred)

Novak Djokovic (1/25 at Coral)
Lukasz Kubot (14 at Boylesports)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (1/8 at Boylesports)
Nicolas Almagro (13/2 at SkyBet)

Roger Federer (1/10 at ExtraBet)
Lleyton Hewitt (8/1 at Stan James)

Women’s Fourth Round Matches
Venus Williams (1/4 at Expekt)
Francesca Schiavone (7/2 at Stan James)

Caroline Wozniacki (4/9 at BetFred)
Na Li (2/1 at Blue Square)

Serena Williams (1/7 at Boylesports)
Samantha Stosur (11/2 at SkyBet)

Victoria Azarenka (4/6 at Ladbrokes)
Vera Zvonareva (7/5 at Boylesports)