Australian Open 3rd Round Predictions
Novak Djokovic vs Taylor Fritz - 2021 Australian Open Men's Singles Third Round
Thursday February 11th, 2021
23-year-old Osaka lost at this stage of the tournament last season and the former Australian Open champion will meet Ons Jabeur for the first time here for a first proper challenge. THE PREDICTION This looks like one of the must-watch matches of the third round in a first career meeting between Naomi Osaka and Ons Jabeur, with the Tunisian. The 2021 Australian Open is here!! Please join hosts Craig Doyle and Phil Naessens as they make predictions for the remaining Men’s & Women's matchups and much more. Craig and Phil have a 88-44 record through the early stages of this event and offer their predictions and more!!
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World number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia faces American Taylor Fritz in the Third Round of the 2021 Australian Open in Melbourne. The match is scheduled to be played on Thursday February 11th, 2021 at a time yet to be determined. They have played twice before in their careers with Djokovic winning both matches in straight sets. Will he continue that trend here and advance to the Round of 16?
Novak Djokovic is one of the best tennis players in history and is considered to be the main contender for the title here in Australia. He had a very tough four set win over American Frances Tiafoe in the Second Round, winning 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 . Djokovic was not at 100% in that match, seeming a bit sluggish but recovered well to win the match in four sets. Tiafoe actually had chances to go two sets to one up so Djokovic will consider himself lucky to have pulled through in three and a half hours. His biggest strengths are his movement and defense, matching him up well with Fritz who is a big server. The Serbian will be very confident heading into this match knowing that he has never lost a set to the American and will expect that trend to continue.
Taylor Fritz is currently ranked #31 and is a very promising young player. He has not had a smooth ride to this stage of the competition, playing four tough sets against Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the First Round before winning a five set classic against close friend and compatriot Reilly Opelka. Fritz was down two sets to one down so showed tremendous grit to get himself back in the match, heavily relying on his big serve and forehand to get him out of trouble. He will know that he has to be better against one of the best returners in history and will be hoping to get himself ready for this match after two long and tiring matches.
This match will have only one outcome, and that is a win for the world number one. He is not yet at his best but will be desperate to make short work of this after exerting himself more than he wanted against Tiafoe and it would be a major shock if it was anything other than a straight sets victory. Novak Djokovic to win.
