Three to See, Day 6: Djokovic-Shapovalov, Venus-Halep, Osaka-Hsieh

Before each day's play at the Australian Open, we'll preview three must-see matches.

Djokovic and Shapovalov will meet for the first time, in what should be a crackling display of baseline shot-making. We know what the Serb is capable of any stage, and we know what the Canadian is capable of on the biggest of those stages. The teenager announced himself to the world with a win over Rafael Nadal in Canada in 2017; now, after two years of ups and downs but no similarly earth-shaking results, would seem to be the time for the 19-year-old to make another run at a signature upset.

Does he have any chance of getting signature win against Djokovic? Shapovalov says he’s going to study how Nadal has gone about beating Djokovic in the past. Admittedly, Shapovalov’s choices for a role model are limited; not many of his fellow lefties have had a lot of success against Djokovic. But even Nadal himself hasn’t had that much success away from clay in recent years. This match may be the tale of two wings: Shapovalov will be able to do damage with his forehand, we know that. But what about his one-handed backhand? There are few things in tennis more spectacular than a leaping Shapovalov backhand winner, but it’s an erratic shot, and on his return of serve, it’s a liability. Look for Djokovic to slide a lot of serves in that direction.

Winner: Djokovic

To reach her second straight Australian Open final, Halep is likely going to have to pull off one of the most difficult doubles in sports: Beating Venus and Serena Williams back to back. First up is Venus, which won’t be easy on its own. Venus seems to have left her 2018 funk behind, and is in survive-and-advance mode in Melbourne. She’s won both of her matches so far in three sets, and both times she has found her best tennis down the stretch in the third. Much the same could be said for Halep: She has survived two stiff tests in her first two rounds, beating Kaia Kanepi and Sofia Kenin in three sets each.

All of which means we can probably expect another prolonged struggle when Halep and Venus face off on Saturday. Venus leads their head-to-head 3-2, but Halep has won their last two meetings, and she beat her 6-2, 6-2 on a hard court in Montreal last summer. Venus will, in all probability, be Venus—a tough out. For Halep, though, there could be two conflicting psychological aspects to this match. On the up side, after coming back from 2-4 down in the third against Kenin in the second round, she might feel as if she’s been granted a second life Down Under, and may play with more ease and freedom because of it. On the down side, the prospect of having to go through Venus and Serena may make this match itself more daunting.

Winner: Halep

What’s the best way to play Osaka? As Serena Williams found out in last year’s US Open final, feeding her pace isn’t the answer. The harder and flatter the ball comes in, the harder and flatter Osaka sends it back. The better alternative would seem to be to loop and chop the ball with extra spin, and to hit it above or below Osaka’s strike zone, rather than right down the center of it. That happens to be exactly the way Hsieh plays—she’s the ultimate junkballer. No one in the game is as creative and surprising with her slices, drops, side-spins and changes of pace as she is.

Can it work against the world No. 4? Osaka and Hsieh have played once, four years ago, on grass, and Osaka won in three tight sets. Hsieh has had success driving people crazy at the Australian Open in the past, and she might just drive Osaka a little crazy on Saturday.

Winner: Hsieh

Kickoff each day of the 2019 Australian Open with Tennis Channel Live, reviewing the day's most important news and previewing the day's biggest matches. Watch LIVE at 6 p.m. ET.

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