Back to Day 5 preview: Nadal, Kerber, Raonic, Muguruza headline

Day 5 preview: Nadal, Kerber, Raonic, Muguruza headline

4 January 2017, by Brisbane International Tennis

A pair of lefties trading blows across the net is a novelty on tour so when Mischa Zverev squares off against Rafael Nadal on Thursday night he will look to join esteemed company.

It was Toni Nadal who famously convinced his right-handed nephew to play as a southpaw from a young age to gain an advantage. And 14 grand slam titles later, it is hard to argue against his suggestion.

Of Nadal’s 881 career matches, only 95 of those have come against a fellow southpaw. Only 13 times has a lefty gained the upper hand on the Spaniard.

They’re big odds for Zverev to overcome.

Nadal chose to sacrifice a few extra days’ fishing and winding down at home on Mallorca for the chance to add the Brisbane International to his schedule in 2017 and after his seamless first-round victory over former runner-up Alexandr Dolgopolov, he admitted it was a decision well made.

The 30-year-old was impressive in his Brisbane debut on Tuesday night, carrying form from his triumph at an Abu Dhabi exhibition event only days earlier.

A wrist injury cruelled Nadal’s season in 2016, forcing his withdrawal from both the French Open and Wimbledon but hitting pain-free and finding form, his season is already looking up.

Nadal has never played Zverev. The German – whose 19-year-old brother is on the cusp of cracking the top 20 – enjoyed his strongest season to date, rising 121 spots to finish the year ranked No.51, his highest in seven years.

Women’s world No.1 Angelique Kerber is another natural right-hander to have mastered her craft as a lefty.

The German ended Australian wildcard Ash Barty’s comeback bid on Pat Rafter Arena on Wednesday night and will take on fleet-footed Ukrainian sixth seed Elina Svitolina for a semifinal berth on Thursday night.

The late-blooming Kerber caused a grand slam boilover with her upset of Serena Williams in last year’s Australian Open final. It came on the heels of reaching the Brisbane International final and would be the springboard to a remarkable season in which she also claimed the US Open and the No.1 ranking.

She has played 22-year-old Svitolina eight times – all on hard court – with the German leading the head-to-head series 5-3. Svitolina, under the part-time guidance of Justine Henin, was the only player last year to beat both No.1s, Williams and Kerber.

Top seed Milos Raonic plays the first match in his title defence on Thursday against diminutive Argentinian Diego Schwartzman. The 196cm Canadian has never taken on the 170cm world No.51.

Raonic won his eighth title with victory over Roger Federer in last year’s Brisbane International final before going on to reach his first Australian Open semifinal, downing Stan Wawrinka en route.

A maiden slam final at Wimbledon – where he again defeated Federer – defined his season as he climbed to No.3 in the world.

The 24-year-old Schwartzman’s best result came in Istanbul where he came back to surprise Grigor Dimitrov in the final for his first career title.

After spending nearly six hours battling her way past slam champ Sam Stosur and rising Russian Daria Kasatkina, the going does not get any easier for Spanish fourth seed Garbine Muguruza.

The 23-year-old French Open champion squares off against two-time major winner, Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, for a place in the semifinals.

Muguruza recovered from a break down in the deciding set against Stosur and saved match point against Kasatkina in two high-quality displays.

Kuznetsova, by contrast, made light work of American Louisa Chirico and teenage Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava. The Spaniard leads their head-to-head series 2-1 with both wins coming last year – at the French Open and WTA Finals in Singapore.

Opening the day’s play on Pat Rafter Arena will be second seed Dominika Cibulkova and unseeded Frenchwoman Alize Cornet.

The Slovak world No.5 overcame a rusty start to prevail in three sets over China’s Shuai Zhang on Wednesday.

The former Australian Open runner-up arrives in Brisbane on the back of her biggest career title at last year’s season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore where she stopped No.1 Kerber in the final, her fourth title of 2016.

She holds a 5-2 record against the 41st-ranked Cornet, who won her fifth career title in Hobart last season and played in France’s losing Fed Cup final against the Czech Republic.

Click here to see Thursday’s full Order of Play.

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