Denis Istomin is coached by his mother and is one of the few players on Tour who needs glasses when he plays. Today, he’s celebrating the biggest win of his career after ensuring the earliest exit of a reigning Australian Open champion in 20 years. The Uzbek wildcard has blown the men’s draw wide open with a gruelling five-set win over second seed Novak Djokovic, which drastically boosts the title chances of No.1 seed and five-time runner-up Andy Murray and those of former champions Stan Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal.
The 30-year-old thanked his mother Klaudiya, who’s always been beside him as coach. Istomin had only claimed one set in five previous matches against Djokovic. Making his win over four hours and 49 minutes more remarkable was the Uzbek’s past year. Injuries and a seven-match losing streak left him out of the top 100 for the first time in six years and battling for an Australian Open spot through December’s Asia-Pacific wildcard playoff. He warmed up for his 11th Australian Open in humbling conditions at the $70,000 Bangkok Challenger!
Gloomy day looms
When it comes to Grand Slam tennis and rain, it’s a combination more associated with south-west London than Melbourne. But a day of delays looms after the Australian Open site was drenched overnight, with showers expected to continue throughout the afternoon. On the men’s side, Roger Federer graces the court against Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych and enjoys a 16-6 record against the 10th seed, including the past five clashes. Four sets look the key number ($2.50 with William Hill).
World no. 27 Bernard Tomic faces off against Great Britain’s Daniel Evans. The pair shares a win apiece in their past meetings, however, it was the Australian who triumphed last time they met in the 2015 Davis Cup. The Aussie is quietly chipping away and looks nicely priced at the small start of -1.5 games ($1.91 on Luxbet). World no. 1 Andy Murray takes to Hisense Arena to battle American 31st seed Sam Querrey. The market doesn’t appear to be too concerned with Murray after he rolled his ankle in the previous round, installing him a $1.02 favourite to prevail. A nibble on Querry at the handicap might be the value here +7.5 at $2.10 with bet365).
Aussie making waves
In her first third round ever at a Grand Slam after a stirring win over Simona Halep’s conqueror Shelby Rogers, Ashleigh Barty is up against German qualifier Mona Barthel. Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard takes on American firebrand CoCo Vandeweghe, followed by World no. 1 Angelique Kerber battling Czech Kristyna Pliskova. Barty is continuing to prove that she made the right decision turning her back on a cricket career to focus on tennis. She created 13 break point chances in 11 return games against Annika Beck and eight in nine games on Shelby Rogers’ serve. If she can maintain such form, Barty will beat many better players than Barthel (take the Aussie straight-up to win at $1.80 on Unibet). Expect a fiercely competitive and highly entertaining encounter when Bouchard meets Vandeweghe. Bouchard, a Canadian, beat the American Vandeweghe, from California, in their only other encounter at Indian Wells in 2015 but they’ve each come a long way since that match-up. Genie wins this in three ($3.75 on Crownbet).
