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| David Ferrer |
The most intriguing of the 4th round matches on day 7 will pit the dogged and consistent Spaniard, David Ferrer against one of the emerging talents on the ATP tour, Kei Nishikori. Both players have sailed through to the 4th round, losing just one set in their opening three matches. Ferrer produced an efficient sweep of Marcos Baghdatis in the third round as he won 6-4 6-2 6-3, meanwhile Nishikori fought of knee niggles to beat Evgeny Donskoy in straight sets. The pair last met at the Olympics where Nishikori overcame Ferrer in three sets including a 6-0 cruise in the opening set. I am concerned about Nishikori's knee injury, but I am still backing the Japanese player, whose consistency I believe will earn him a spot in the top 10 soon, to take out Ferrer in a cagey affair.
Prediction - Nishikori to beat Ferrer in 4 sets
2. Agnieszka Radwanska v Ana Ivanovic
Agnieszka Radwanska has made a superb start to the season and is yet to lose a set in any of her 12 matches in 2013. Perhaps a match-up with Ana Ivanovic could pose her first significant test of the championships? Ivanovic produced a far superior performance in round three compared to round two as she beat fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic, 7-5 6-3. Ivanovic has become more solid over the past year, but she has shyed away from the big occasion and apart from an excellent performance to beat Caroline Wozniacki in Indian Wells last year, she has always come second best against the top 10-ers. Radwanska had a straightforward win over Heather Watson, 6-1 6-3 in the third round. Radwanska has won their last four matches and to be honest, I think she will be too solid and imaginative for Ivanovic once again...
Prediction - Radwanska to beat Ivanovic in 2 tight sets
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| Julia Goerges |
The big serving German, Julia Goerges had made a shaky start to 2013, but just like last year, she has managed to make the round of 16. Goerges beat Zheng Jie in a tight third round match, showing great nerve and poise to dig out of a 5-3 third set hole to progress with a 6-3 1-6 7-5 win. Li Na has looked impressive so far with three straight set triumphs and a revenge win over Sorana Cirstea in the third round, who had defeated her at Wimbledon last year. Goerges and Li have never met before, adding to the intrigue of this match. Goerges has some big strokes with little margin for error, but when in her groove she can be tough to stop. I have been impressed with Li's drama-free run to the 4th round and I fancy her to banish memories of her horror 4th rounder against Kim Clijsters last year and set up a quarter-final with Agnieszka Radwanska.
Prediction - Li to beat Goerges in 2 very tight sets
4. Kevin Anderson v Tomas Berdych
The final pick of the day comes from the men's draw where in-form Kevin Anderson will take on the number five seed, Tomas Berdych. Anderson made the final in Sydney and has backed that up with a round of 16 showing in Melbourne, which included an impressive five set win over Fernando Verdasco in the third round. Berdych meanwhile, started the season in sluggish form, but seems to be finding his feet through the rounds. He made extremely light work of Jurgen Melzer in the last round, winning for the loss of just seven games. Berdych has always owned Anderson in their head-to-head, winning all four of their 2012 clashes. However I have a good feeling about the South African and he did push the Czech hard in their Roland Garros encounter... its a risky one, but i'm going for Anderson.
Prediction - Anderson to beat Berdych in 5 sets
Best of the rest: womens 4th round
Maria Sharapova to beat Kirsten Flipkens in 2 sets
Angelique Kerber to beat Ekaterina Makarova in 2 tight sets
Best of the rest: mens 4th round
Novak Djokovic to beat Stanislas Wawrinka in 3 sets
Nicolas Almagro to beat Janko Tipsarevic in 4 sets
Yanko retires like a wanker, dude should be investigated he retires before end of 2nd set all the time
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