ANOTHER four-plus hour contest at Melbourne Park under lights, a retirement and some straight sets wins by tip seeds highlighted a big day of action on Day 6.

Gael Monfils became the first player to make the third round of the men’s draw in the top half after a straight sets win over qualifier, Ernests Gulbis. Monfils had to battle hard to overcome the Latvian, but eventually got there 7-6 6-4 6-3 in two hours and 27 minutes. Both players had nine aces and six double faults, with Gulbis marginally ahead on winners (33-30) but also a lot more unforced errors (52-22) as Monfils dominated his first serve. The Frenchman won 78 per cent of his first serve points and claimed five breaks in the match, also recording a steady 60 per cent of his second serve points too.

The 10th seed sets up a huge fourth round clash with world number five, Dominic Thiem who overcame 29th seed Taylor Fritz in four sets. The Austrian only just survived his second round clash but did it a little easier in the Round of 32, winning the first two sets comfortably, dropping the third set tiebreaker before bounding back to secure the win, 6-2 6-4 6-7 6-4. He hit a massive 56 winners during the match and recorded a win percentage of 77 per cent, but more importantly took his break point opportunities with five breaks from nine chances compared to his opponents’ one from seven. Fritz was deserving of challenging him given he hit 51 winners himself and only 36 unforced errors, while serving up 20 aces on the night.

In the latest match of the day, Australia’s Nick Kyrgios booked the fourth round date everyone had been hoping for since the draw came out over a week ago, with the Aussie to face Rafael Nadal in the Round of 16. Kyrgios staggered over the line against 16th seed Russian Karen Khachanov 6-2 7-6 6-7 6-7 7-6 in an amazing four tiebreakers and a whopping four hours and 26 minutes. He had match points in both the third and fourth sets, but it was not until winning the final three points of the match – with some unbelievable backhand winners – that got him home against the up-and-coming Russian. Both players were absolutely incredible with Kyrgios hitting a tournament-high 97 winners as well as 33 aces, while Khachanov was just as impressive with 75 and 21 respectively, Both players played the net well and were so strong on their first serve which made it difficult to break.

World number one Nadal had an easier time as he breezed through to the Round of 16 with a comfortable 6-1 6-2 6-4 win over countryman, Pablo Carreno Busta. The match lasted almost three hours less than his Round of 16 opponent, as Nadal hit 42 winners and nine aces, only dropping 10 points on-serve and not recording a double-fault. He broke five times and made the top 30 player look like a qualifier with some amazing shots and strength all over the court. He will now face the toughest opponent so far and one who has beaten him three times, though Nadal holds the record 4-3 in head-to-heads.

[1] R. Nadal (ESP) defeated [27] P. Carreno Busta (ESP) 6-1 6-2 6-4
[23] N. Kyrgios (AUS) defeated [16] K. Khachanov (RUS) 6-2 7-6 6-7 6-7 7-6
[10] G. Monfils (FRA) defeated [Q] E. Gulbis (LAT) 7-6 6-4 6-3
[5] D. Thiem (AUT) defeated [29] T. Fritz (USA) 6-2 6-4 6-7 6-4

World number four, Daniil Medvedev also cruised through to the Round of 16 with a 6-4 6-3 6-2 win over Australian, Alexei Popyrin. The Russian won in one hour and 47 minutes, winning 77 per cent of his first serve points and 67 per cent of his second serve points, compared to his opponents’ 67 and 32 per cent respectively. Khachanov won 37 per cent of his receiving points and only produced 19 unforced errors for the match, 25 less than Popyrin. He was particularly damaging at the net with success from 15 of 16 points there.

He takes on a player who only spent just over an hour on court in Stan Wawrinka, following his win over 19th seed, John Isner. The big serving American had to retire at 6-4 4-1 down on Court 3, handing Wawrinka the safe passage through to the fourth round. The Swiss star was in control anyway at the time, only hitting nine unforced errors with 20 winners.

At the bottom of the draw, seventh seed Alexander Zverev also won in straight sets, defeating Spanish veteran, Fernando Verdasco in straight sets. The German 22-year-old won 6-2 6-2 6-4 in just under two hours, serving 15 aces and 34 winners, dominating on first serve with a 77 per cent success rate. Verdasco was strong at the net and did well on Zverev’s second serve, but the German was more consistent and with greater firepower which helped him book a spot in the last 16.

Meanwhile Andrey Rublev‘s unbeaten 2020 campaign rolled on after a come-from-behind win over 11th seed David Goffin. The young Russian lost the first set 6-2, but came back to win in four sets, defeating the Belgian 2-6 7-6 6-4 7-6 in exactly three hours. Rublev won 78 per cent of his first serve points and 39 per cent of his receiving points, hitting 42 winners for only 32 unforced errors. Goffin on the other hand hit two more winners, but hit 51 unforced errors, including eight off the return. He did break five times to Rublev’s four, but the Russian helped himself to 14 aces as he booked a spot against Zverev in Round 4.

[4] D. Medvedev (RUS) defeated A. Popyrin (AUS) 6-4 6-3 6-2
[15] S. Wawrinka (SUI) defeated [19] J. Isner (USA) 6-4 4-1 RETIRED
[17] A. Rublev (RUS) defeated [11] D. Goffin (BEL) 2-6 7-6 6-4 7-6
[7] A. Zverev (GER) defeated F. Verdasco (ESP) 6-2 6-2 6-4