Day 7 Australian Open matches to watch

MATCHES TO WATCH ON DAY SEVEN OF THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN

*5-Kei Nishikori (JPN) v 17-Roger Federer (SUI)

In the wake of his dismissal of Tomas Berdych on Friday night, Federer referred to Nishikori as “a good kid” but the fifth seed is plenty more than that. Not only does he outrank Federer by 12 positions, his all-action running game could trouble Federer in the way Berdych didn’t. The Swiss champion was imperious against the Czech but could find the going tougher against Japan’s No.1.

*12-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v Dan Evans (GBR)

Evans, conqueror of Marin Cilic and Bernard Tomic, will gun for a third seed in four rounds against mercurial Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. There’s been no luck attached to Evans’ giant-killing run as the Brit has played well above his world ranking of 51. If Tsonga will prevail, he’ll like his chances against likely quarter-final opponent Stan Wawrinka.

*1-Angelique Kerber (GER) v Coco Vandeweghe (USA)

Like Federer, Kerber kicked her Austalian Open up a notch in the third round. The German needed three sets in her opening matches but dispatched Kristyna Pliskova mercilessly 6-0 6-4 on Friday. Big-swinging Vandeweghe will challenge the world No.1. The American already has wins against 15th seed Roberta Vinci and Eugenie Bouchard under her belt and is playing confident tennis.

* 4-Stan Wawrinka (SWI) v Andreas Seppi (ITA)

In the wake of Nick Kyrgios’ unforgettable implosion, Seppi has ghosted through the draw to repeat the best grand slam result of his 14-year career. In 47 past majors, he’s never reached the quarter-finals. Could it happen against the Stanimal? The 2014 champion needed five sets to beat Martin Klizan in his first match and needed to come from behind to beat Viktor Troicki on Friday.

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