Three to See: Rafa takes on Monfils; Can Makarova slow down Konta?

Before each day of play at the Australian Open, we'll preview and predict three must-see matches. For full coverage of the season's first Slam, go to our men’s and women’s tournament pages.

For perhaps the first time, Monfils is seeded higher at a major than Nadal—the Frenchman is No. 6, the Spaniard No. 9. On the one hand, you can throw out these numbers in favor of a much more important set of digits: Nadal’s 12-2 record against Monfils, which includes four straight wins dating back to 2012. Among those was a 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 blowout at the Australian Open three years ago. But Monfils’ No. 6 seeding does matter. He has been a more substantive and dangerous competitor over the last year than he ever has been before. In the 2016 final against Nadal in Monte Carlo, Monfils won the first and only set he’s ever taken from Rafa on clay. Monfils has also been sharp in his first three matches Down Under. He should make it interesting against Nadal, and might push it to five. But after his last win, over Alexander Zverev, Rafa should feel a little more confident in the clutch.

Winner: Nadal

Konta is the name that’s on everyone’s lips right now. She has hit the ball so cleanly, confidently and aggressively in her easy wins over Kirsten Flipkens, Naomi Osaka and Caroline Wozniacki that the once-bizarre idea of the 25-year-old Brit holding the Aussie Open trophy a week from Saturday has begun to pop into a few tennis fans’ heads. We’ve got a little ways to go before that happens, of course, including a possible quarterfinal match against Serena Williams, and this fourth-rounder against Makarova. Konta is 3-0 vs. the Russian, but the matches have generally been close, and Makarova played one of the best sets of her career on Friday to knock out No. 5 Dominika Cibulkova.

Winner: Konta

Tennis lovers unite: This one is for us. From Thiem, we’ll get power and spin unleashed in baroque full-cut ground strokes. From Goffin we’ll get smooth changes of direction from both sides. Thiem has a one-handed backhand and Goffin a two-hander, a combination that often produces the most interesting rallies because the angles of the shots vary. The two matches these guys played at the majors last year—Goffin won in Melbourne, Thiem in Paris—were high-quality four-setters. As for who will win the rubber contest, we’ll just have to sit back and enjoy while we find out.

Winner: Goffin