Three to See, Day 4: Serena-Bouchard, Djokovic-Tsonga, Halep-Kenin

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

The American and the Canadian are, for very different reasons, two of the best-known players of recent years. So it comes as something of a surprise that there have been no signature matches between them. They’ve faced each other just twice in official action, in Cincinnati in 2013 and Singapore in 2014, and Serena won comfortably both times. At the 2015 Hopman Cup, Bouchard stunned Serena 6-2, 6-1—though that didn't stop her rapid decline.

Five years later, Bouchard still hasn’t recovered; she’s ranked just No. 88 at the moment. Still, of late she has shown signs of the form that once took her to the Australian Open semifinals. She has a new coach in Michael Joyce, she reached the semifinals and quarterfinals of her last two events, and she had no trouble with Peng Shuai in her opener on Tuesday. Theoretically, Bouchard should like the pace that Serena gives her. Whether she can handle it, and for how long, is another story. But this one should be watchable.

Winner: Williams

The Serb and the Frenchman have a history in Australia. Their first meeting, way back in 2008, came in the final in Melbourne, a match that Djokovic won in four sets, and which launched him into the same stratosphere as the top two players at that time, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Two years later, Tsonga managed to turn the tables in a five-set quarterfinal. But instead of leading to bigger things for Tsonga, that match would end up being one of Djokovic’s last disappointing results before he began to dominate the sport the following year. He would win five of the next six Australian Opens, and he would win his next 11 meetings with Tsonga.

Is there any chance the result will be different this time? Tsonga, now 33, had knee surgery last year and is currently ranked No. 177. Meanwhile, Djokovic has already fully recovered from his own late-career physical issues and is currently ranked No. 1 again. There’s no plausible way to pick Tsonga to win this match, but he did look surprisingly good, physically and technically, in beating upstart-of-the-moment Alex De Minaur and reaching the semifinals in Brisbane two weeks ago.

Winner: Djokovic

Halep is No. 1; Kenin is No. 37. At 27, the Romanian is in her prime; at 20, the Russian-turned-Floridian is still learning the ropes. Halep’s career record at the Australian Open is 17-8, and she fell just a few games short of winning the title last year. Kenin’s career record Down Under is 1-1, and her record at all four Slams combined is 6-7. Beyond those stats, Halep should feel a big sense of relief and freedom after surviving a stiff first-round test from Kaia Kanepi. Halep and Kenin have never played, and Kenin might be bowled over the by the moment and the opponent.

All of which means this match should be one-sided, right? Even if it is, Kenin, who might as well be the dictionary definition of a “spark plug,” should be worth a look. Striding swiftly between points, slamming her racquet down in sudden fits of rage, and attacking every ball she sees, Kenin, who won her first WTA title last week in Hobart, will inject life into this match, even if it’s in a losing effort.

Winner: Halep

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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