Yesterday I correctly predicted all three previewed matches.  Today’s top three are much tougher to call, but I am hoping to repeat it with a few risky picks. The Australian Open needs a big match to really kick this tournament into gear.  Day 3 went without much drama and to be honest, the whole slate of 2nd round matches is a bit uninspiring.  Normally, the best matches are the ones you least expect, so hopefully tomorrow we will see something special.

TFF Dream Team Update: Tight at the top with SA23 1st, Grand Slammers 2nd and AuzzieOpenDreamTeamm in 3rd place.  Moo has moved up to 6th place!

Poll Results for Day 2: The majority (54%) incorrectly went for Pironkova to beat Stosur.  Today’s polls are tough matches to call and I am expecting some more close calls.

In the women’s draw, the biggest taking point is the lopsided nature of players in the first quarter.  In one section we have Serena Williams, Daniela Hantuchova, Sam Stosur and Ana Ivanovic, meanwhile in the other features Jie Zheng, Casey Dellacqua, Lauren Davis and Eugenie Bouchard.  Zheng knocked out Madison Keys with a terrific comeback in the third set, meanwhile Bouchard hung on in a fantastic second set tiebreak to beat Virgine Razzano in straight sets.  Bouchard looks like the favourite to make the quarters; despite the lack of seeds, I think all four players in that bottom section are competent and there is the potential for some nice storylines.

Three seeds fell in the men’s draw; Mikhail Youzhny, Ernests Gulbis and Dmitry Tursunov.  The performance of the day was probably Sam Querrey, who delivered a serving masterclass to completely overwhelm Gulbis, 6-2 6-3 6-4.  We know that the men’s draw will kick into full gear from at least the quarter-finals, but until then, there is not much getting me excited about the tournament so far.

1. Marin Cilic v Gilles Simon

Gilles Simon

Aside from the exits of Bernard Tomic and Lleyton Hewitt, the biggest headline of day 2 was Gilles Simon‘s five set victory over Daniel Brands.  On the face of things, it was just another five set match; however all over the weekend, there were reports that Simon was going to pull out of the tournament having rolled his ankle at the exhibition event in Kooyong.  Apparently he was walking around the grounds with crutches on Saturday and many tennis pundits had already started to indicate that he would withdraw and the draw would be reshuffled.  It came as quite a surprise when he stepped out on court, but even more so when after 4 hours and 32 minutes of gruelling tennis, he stepped off as the winner.  Simon is not normally someone I would define as a fighter on court, but this was a marvellous win for him, especially as he saved SEVEN match points.

Simon now takes on Marin Cilic, who won a five setter himself, coming back from two sets down to take out Marcel Granollers in the first round.  Cilic made the quarter-finals in Brisbane and has posted a mixed bag of results on his return since the drugs ban.    Simon takes a 3-0 head-to-head lead into this match although they haven’t played for over five years.  You have to wonder what state Simon’s dodgy ankle will be in after his epic win with Brands.  Cilic hasn’t been convincing this year, but surely should scoop up his lucky ticket into the third round.

Prediction: Cilic to beat Simon in 3 sets

2. Yen-Hsun Lu v Grigor Dimitrov

Yen-Hsun Lu has started the season in terrific form having made the final in Auckland, which included a victory over the world number three, David Ferrer.  He now gets a shot at a seed and will fancy his chances against Slam-shy, Grigor Dimitrov.  The Bulgarian has reached the third round of a Slam just once in his career and will be eager to start progressing at these big events.  Dimitrov is one player I thought who might struggle in the heat.  On Tuesday, after losing the first set of his match with Bradley Klahn, he rebounded strongly to take the match in four sets.  Lu, perhaps most well known for beating Andy Murray at the 2008 Olympics and knocking Andy Roddick out of Wimbledon in 2010, had a comprehensive victory over Jimmy Wang, 6-3 6-2 6-1 in the first round.  This will be a real test of Dimitrov’s mettle against an in-form opponent.  I think it will be a five setter and I am going for a big win for Dimitrov.

Prediction: Dimitrov to beat Lu in 5 sets

3. Sloane Stephens v Ajla Tomljanovic

Sloane Stephens

I have to admit the women’s matches are rather uninspiring for day 3.  In my opinion, the one that has the most intrigue features last year’s semi-finalist, Sloane Stephens and Ajla Tomljanovic.  Sloane had a really messy first round win over Yaroslava Shvedova, 7-6(1) 6-3.  Stephens was 5-1 down in the first set, but a mixture of her reluctance to give up and Shvedova’s awful brain cramps saw the American reclaim control and take the match in two sets.  Shvedova is a beautiful ball striker, but her mental woes and lack of confidence are rather startling.

Stephens is still not 100% with her wrist and Tomljanovic in the next round could be a dicey match.  The 20-year-old Croatian was forced to three sets against Tadeja Majeric on Tuesday and came back from 0-2 down in the decider to win, 3-6 7-6(1) 6-4.  She reached the second round in Sydney and has had some good results on hard courts, namely a 4th round run in Miami last year.  Tomljanovic is still a considerable outsider because Sloane has proven her credibility at the Slams and is generally a pretty consistent player these days.  I am going to take the risk though and say that the big serving, Tomljanovic will come through.

Prediction: Tomljanovic to beat Stephens in 3 sets

WTA 2nd Round Predictions

Jelena Jankovic to beat Ayumi Morita in 2 tight sets

Magdalena Rybarikova to beat Kurumi Nara in 3 sets

Marina Erakovic to beat Zarina Diyas in 3 sets

Simona Halep to beat Varvara Lepchenko in 2 sets

Carla Suarez Navarro to beat Galina Voskoboeva in 2 sets

Dominika Cibulkova to beat Stefanie Voegele in 2 very tight sets

Alize Cornet to beat Camila Giorgi in 3 dramatic sets

Maria Sharapova to beat Karin Knapp in 2 sets

Agnieszka Radwanska to beat Olga Govortsova in 2 sets

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to beat Mandy Minella in 2 sets

Garbine Muguruza to beat Anna Schmiedlova in 2 tight sets

Caroline Wozniacki to beat Christina McHale in 2 sets

Elina Svitolina to beat Olivia Rogowska in 2 sets

Victoria Azarenka to beat Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in 2 sets

ATP 2nd Round Predictions

Rafael Nadal to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis in 3 sets

Gael Monfils to beat Jack Sock in 4 sets

Donald Young to beat Andreas Seppi in 5 sets

Kei Nishikori to beat Dusan Lajovic in 3 sets

Milos Raonic to beat Victor Hanescu in 3 sets

Benoit Paire to beat Nick Kyrgios in 5 sets

Juan Martin del Potro to beat Robert Bautista-Agut in 3 sets

Andy Murray to beat Vincent Millot in 3 sets

Feliciano Lopez to beat Michael Berrer in 5 sets

Michal Przysiezny to beat Stephane Robert in 4 sets

Martin Klizan to beat Blaz Rola in 5 sets

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to beat Thomasz Bellucci in 3 sets

Fernando Verdasco to beat Teymuraz Gabashvili in 3 sets

Roger Federer to beat Blaz Kavcic in 3 sets