Australian Open: 5 matches to watch on Day 1

It’s finally that time of the year for which every tennis fan waits with bated breath – Slam time! Melbourne Park is all set to revel in some exhilarating display of tennis and excitement for the next two weeks as the 2016 Australian Open gets under way on Monday.This year’s Oz Open has some cracking line-up of matches right from Day 1. The opening day is dotted with potential upsets that can make the Slam interesting right from the first day.Here’s our pick of the matches that should not be missed:

#6 Indian interest

India’s only hope at the Australian Open: Yuki Bhambri

95th ranked Yuki Bhambri is the only Indian representation in singles at the 2016 Australian Open. It’s an uphill task for the 23-year-old as he faces the World No. 6 Tomas Berdych in the opener. The former junior Australian Open winner had called it a ‘terrible draw’ but the experience will definitely help him to gauge where he currently stands and what more he needs to do to be able to compete at the highest level of the sport regularly.

Possible timing for the match: 7-7.30 am IST

Other potential crackers/upsets

Plenty of other matches can go the distance. Keep eyes on Serena Williams vs Camila Giorgi. The Italian with her ruthless ball-striking can give the World No. 1 and defending champion a hard time.

World No. 11 Karolina Pliskova’s twin sister, Kristyna – a former junior Wimbledon champion – can break Aussie hearts on the first day by sending 25th Samantha Stosur home. Belinda Bencic is another seed who can join the potential exodus of seeds on Monday. The young Swiss suffered from a stomach illness recently in Sydney and can find the going tough against the Shenzen runner-up Alison Riske.

On the men’s side, the battle of two guns – Nick Kyrgios vs Pablo Carreno Busta – deserves attention while Canadian Vasek Pospisil won’t make it easy for 14th seed Gilles Simon.

#5 (7) Kei Nishikori v Philipp Kohlschreiber

Germany’s Kohlschreiber (R) narrowly missed out on being seeded at the Open

Interestingly, this is their first meeting. World No. 7 Kei Nishikori certainly wouldn’t have preferred to face the dangerous Philipp Kohlschreiber in the opening round of such an important event. The German, ranked 34th, just missed out on being seeded, which is why he has the seventh seed first up.

For Nishikori, this is a Slam he loves to play in. He has been a two-time quarter-finalist and that should give him confidence ahead of this clash. However, the Japanese surprisingly fell to Bernard Tomic at the Brisbane quarter-finals and that was surely not how he would have liked to kick off his Oz Open preparations.

Nishikori needs to be cautious against Kohlschreiber, whose smooth strokes can give the biggest stars quite a hard time. Besides, the Japanese will also be under some pressure after falling in the first round of the US Open last year.

#4 (9) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v Marcos Baghdatis

Tsonga (L) is expected to beat his 38^th ranked Cypriot rival

When two former Australian Open runners-up face off in the first round, it sure sets for an intriguing prospect. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is the one who should emerge victorious in this one. The Frenchman is ranked 10th and is coming fresh off a semi-final appearance at Auckland.

Baghdatis is 38 places below the Frenchman in the rankings and has a dismal 0-5 record against Tsonga. What can work for him, however, is the vociferous Greek support at Melbourne who always come out in large numbers to root for the Cypriot. And Baghdatis simply thrives in such a situation, something we have all seen during his memorable run to the summit clash in 2006.

The World No. 48 has been on the comeback trail for the last one year after plunging to as low as 155th in the rankings in 2014 and Tsonga needs to be wary of that.

#3 (23) Svetlana Kuznetsova v Daniela Hantuchova

Kuznetsova (L) leads Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova in their head-to-head

This is a showdown of two veterans, who have played each other 14 times. Svetlana Kuznetsova leads the head-to-head record 10-4 and has won their last four matches. It is the Russian who has to be favoured, having won her 16th career title just a couple of days back in Sydney. She was in stellar form at that tournament where she even upended the World No. 2 Simona Halep.

It has been contrasting fortunes for the former Wimbledon semi-finalist Hantuchova, who is languishing at 89th in the world rankings – 69 places below her Russian rival. Form-wise, Kuznetsova should win this easily but she can be inconsistent at times and that can harm her. To add to that, her Sydney exploits might have taken a lot out of the 30-year-old, allowing fatigue to creep in.

#2 (28) Kristina Mladenovic v Dominika Cibulkova

Cibulkova(L) has seen a drop in the rankings due to injury and has not had her previous consistency

Dominika Cibulkova shouldn’t have been playing on Court 19 after her stupendous show at the 2014 Australian Open where she reached the final. She even backed up that result with a quarter-final appearance next year.

But her ranking plummeted few months later as the Slovak had to undergo an Achilles surgery. Quite naturally, her performances have been inconsistent after the break. It is only this season that the World No. 37 has finally started showing her lost spark. The 25-year-old reached the semis at Hobart and would be upbeat about her chances at Melbourne.

She begins her campaign against Kristina Mladenovic, who is seeded 28th. Cibulkova boasts of a 5-0 head-to-head record over the Frenchwoman but their very last encounter was a gripping three-setter win for the Slovak last year at New Haven.

Could that inspire Mladenovic to turn the tables this time?

#1 (6) Petra Kvitova vs (Q) Luksika Kumkhum

Kumkhum (R) has beaten Grand Slam winner Kvitova before

Two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova must be wondering what exactly she needs to do to avoid Thai player Luksika Kumkhum at the year’s first Major. Kumkhum dashed the Czech’s dreams right here in Melbourne Park in 2014 in one of the biggest opening round meltdowns ever witnessed at this Slam.

Two years later, the 158th ranked Kumkhum qualified for the Oz Open and once again it is Kvitova whom she meets in the first round. That’s definitely not a welcome news for the sixth seed.

Kvitova had not been in the best of health in the lead-up to the season’s first Major. A stomach virus prompted her to withdraw from the two warm-up tournaments that she had entered in. Lack of matches might make her vulnerable against her Thai nemesis. Will it be enough for Kumkhum to repeat her act?