2016 Australian Open: What to watch on Day 5

The third round commences at the 2016 Australian Open on Friday and it has an absolutely thrilling line-up of matches. Two generational battles headline the day – Roger Federer vs Grigor Dimitrov and Tomas Berdych vs Nick Kyrgios.There are many other exciting clashes on the schedule. Here’s our pick of what should not be missed on Day 5:

#5 Indian interest

Three Indians will be in action on Day 5. Leander Paes and Martina Hingis begin their title defense in mixed doubles as they take on the British-Russian pair of Dominic Inglot and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Men’s doubles action also continues as Rohan Bopanna and Mahesh Bhupathi will be aiming for places in the third round with their respective partners. Bhupathi and his partner, Gilles Muller have the tougher job as they face the mighty Bryan Brothers. Fourth seeds Bopanna and Florin Mergea, meanwhile, will be up against the Czech pair of Lukas Dlouhy and Jiri Vesely.

#4 (19) Dominic Thiem vs (15) David Goffin

15^th seed David Goffin of Belgium takes on his friend Thiem today

Just four ranking spots separate friends Dominic Thiem and David Goffin, both of whom are smooth strikers of the ball.

The higher-ranked Belgian is the one who leads the head-to-head records 4-2 but it is the 22-year-old Thiem who has emerged victorious the last two times they have met. The Austrian’s fabulous single-handed backhand and fighting spirit will surely help to make a difference in this match.

Thiem also has another motivation – he has never been past the second round at the Australian Open and he would be keen to improve that record.

#3 (28) Kristina Mladenovic vs Daria Gavrilova

Mladenovic is the higher-ranked of the two, but Gavrilova pulled off a big upset earlier

22-year-old Kristina Mladenovic and 21-year-old Daria Gavrilova played each other in the 2009 French Open girls’ singles final, which the French player won. Seven years later, the two are meeting each other for the first time in the senior circuit.

Mladenovic has the higher ranking of 30th and is placed nine spots above the Russian-turned-Australian. However, Gavrilova is the one who arrives with more confidence after her big upset win over Petra Kvitova on Wednesday. To add to that, she will also have the vocal support of the Australian crowd at the Hisense Arena.

That just might be enough for her to secure her maiden appearance in the second week of a Slam.

#2 (6) Tomas Berdych vs (29) Nick Kyrgios

6th-ranked Tomas Berdych has significantly more experience

In the other generational battle of the day, the sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych meets his successor, Nick Kyrgios. With a huge build, fearless attitude and an explosive game, the young Kyrgios can be quite a force to reckon with.

At 20, he already has two Grand Slam quarter-finals under his belt, one of which came right here at Melbourne Park last year. After having wins over the legendary duo of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Kyrgios will definitely not be intimidated by the prospect of facing Berdych.

The Czech did get a taste of Kyrgios’ firepower when the youngster beat him at the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) in December. Berdych would surely be more careful this time.

Kyrgios has the ability to stretch the sixth seed but the Czech’s experience is likely to have the final word.

#1 (3) Roger Federer vs (27) Grigor Dimitrov

Federer will play ‘Baby Federer’ today.

This is the match tennis fans will be waiting for. Grigor Dimitrov mirrors Roger Federer’s game so much that he is often referred to as ‘Baby Federer’. However, it is the master who has reigned supreme in each of the four occasions they have met.

The 28th ranked Bulgarian’s chances cannot be totally ruled out though. Having recently joined forces with Juan Martin del Potro’s former coach, Franco Davin, the former top-10 player is once again clawing his way back to the higher echelons. He reached the Sydney final the week before the Australian Open and has so far looked quite good.

More than anything else, his last meeting with Federer was just two weeks ago at Brisbane where he managed to take a set off the maestro and that should give him confidence to push the Swiss to the brink.