Unconventional

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I just finished watching Bernard Tomic defeat Alexandr Dolgopolov in five sets on Rod Laver Arena last night.

Another verse he wasn't supposed to write.

In three previous meetings, he'd never beaten the lithe, long-haired, lair trapper from the Ukraine, only winning two tight sets. The rest were either routine sets or all-out beatdowns by his higher-ranked opponent.

True to form, the newest Aussie hope took both tiebreaks after dropping the first routine set to take the match lead. True to form, he dropped the fourth set 2-6. But he earned an early break in the deciding set and never looked back.

Loved the match. Just because neither player is a household name doesn't mean the battle lacked great shot making, grueling points, and all sorts of drama. Both play unconventional tennis, both cover the court deceptively, both possess easy power. We often heard that Martina Hingis turned the court into a chessboard, but I'm not sure any two players construct points quite like these. Sure, a few rallies included a few too many slice backhand drills (it's one of the many ways Dolgopolov tries to trap you in his lair), but what kept even those lulls intriguing was trying to predict who would be the first to switch it up and send a flat laser down the line or run around and nail an inside-in forehand to the corner. Either choice would make the opponent dart to their right to cover the shot and what either would do with it remained unpredictable, sometimes eliciting a gasp.

Yeah. I loved it.

Tomic books a date on Sunday with Roger Federer. I haven't a clue who's going to prevail.

::

In the day's other five-setter, the lower-ranked player, No. 18-seed Feliciano Lopez, also prevailed, running away with the final set. John Isner, seeded No. 16, can win tiebreaks but he can't break serve. Thus, the last American man in the field is out.

::

On the women's side, only one match needed a decider. No. 22-seed Julia Goerges dismissed Italian Romina Oprandi 6-1 in the third.

::

Today, the rest of the final 16 will emerge. The order of play:

Rod Laver Arena 11:00 AM
Women's Singles - 3rd Round
Maria Kirilenko(RUS)[27] vs. Petra Kvitova(CZE)[2]
Angelique Kerber(GER)[30] vs. Maria Sharapova(RUS)[4]

Men's Singles - 3rd Round
Novak Djokovic(SRB)[1] vs. Nicolas Mahut(FRA)

Rod Laver Arena 7:00 PM
Women's Singles - 3rd Round
Greta Arn(HUN) vs. Serena Williams(USA)[12]

Men's Singles - 3rd Round
Milos Raonic(CAN)[23] vs. Lleyton Hewitt(AUS)

Hisense Arena 11:00 AM
Men's Singles - 3rd Round
Frederico Gil(POR) vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga(FRA)[6]

Women's Singles - 3rd Round
Vania King(USA) vs. Ana Ivanovic(SRB)[21]
Sabine Lisicki(GER)[14] vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova(RUS)[18]

Hisense Arena 7:00 PM
Men's Singles - 3rd Round
Andy Murray(GBR)[4] vs. Michael Llodra(FRA)

Margaret Court Arena Not Before 12:30 PM
Women's Singles - 3rd Round
Vera Zvonareva(RUS)[7] vs. Ekaterina Makarova(RUS)

Men's Singles - 3rd Round
Janko Tipsarevic(SRB)[9] vs. Richard Gasquet(FRA)[17]
Mikhail Kukushkin(KAZ) vs. Gael Monfils(FRA)[14]

Show Court 2 11:00 AM
Women's Singles - 3rd Round
Sorana Cirstea(ROU) vs. Sara Errani(ITA)

Not Before 12:30 PM
Men's Singles - 3rd Round
Juan Ignacio Chela(ARG)[27] vs. David Ferrer(ESP)[5]

Show Court 3 Not Before 12:30 PM
Women's Singles - 3rd Round
Jie Zheng(CHN) vs. Marion Bartoli(FRA)[9]

Men's Singles - 3rd Round
Julien Benneteau(FRA) vs. Kei Nishikori(JPN)[24]

Anybody see any upsets brewing?