Before each day's play Down Under, we'll preview and predict three must-see matches.

All eyes will be on Djokovic as he takes the court in an official match for the first time since retiring in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last year. All eyes will also be on his still-aching right elbow, and the abbreviated service motion that he has been forced to develop to manage it. That may not sound like a recipe for a seventh title Down Under for Djokovic, but anyone who has shortened a service motion knows that it is doable, and can even lead to more efficiency and accuracy.

What Djokovic won’t be able to alter is his lack of match play—jumping straight into best-of-five at a major after six months off will be a crapshoot, no matter how many times he has won this tournament before, or no matter who his opponent is. In this case, Djokovic will be facing an opponent he has beaten in routine fashion in their two previous meetings. Winner: Djokovic

Delpo was one of Tiafoe’s idols when he was growing up, but he didn’t pay him an undue amount of respect in their only meeting, in Acapulco last spring. In an evening-session shootout, the 19-year-old Marylander took the Argentine to a third-set tiebreaker before finally succumbing to the bigger man’s missiles. Five months later, Tiafoe would have another high-profile near-miss against Roger Federer in the first round at the US Open.

With his 20th birthday approaching later this month, and a solid two years of pro-tour experience under his belt, is Tiafoe ready to cross the finish line this time? It won’t be easy. Del Potro finished 2017 on a roll, and started 2018 much the same way in Auckland, where he beat Denis Shapovalov, Karen Khachanov and David Ferrer on his way to the final. Winner: Del Potro

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Like her friend Sloane Stephens, Keys hasn’t been able to build on her run to the US Open final last fall. Sidelined by recurring pain in her surgically repaired left wrist, she has played just two matches since the Open, both of them losses.

Much like Stephens, Keys will try to push the restart button against a potentially tricky opponent from China. Wang is ranked just 45th and has had many of her best results on clay; last year she nearly knocked off Venus Williams at Wimbledon, and she beat Stephens easily in Wuhan. Still, Keys reached the semifinals in Melbourne three years ago, and now, provided her wrist behaves, she knows she has the game to go even farther. Winner: Keys

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Three to See, Day 2: Young, Tiafoe, Keys try to recoup American hopes

Three to See, Day 2: Young, Tiafoe, Keys try to recoup American hopes

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