Five Must-See First Round Matches at the 2013 Australian Open

Five must-see first-round matches bound to keep die-hard tennis fans entertained when the Australian Open gets underway on January 14.

By Chris Oddo

(January 11, 2013) -- With the announcement of the Australian Open singles draws on Friday (Thursday in the U.S., but you knew that already, didn’t you?) tennis fans now have the chance to spend the next two days drooling over some of the sure to be epic first-round matches on the docket. Here are our fave five. Get your popcorn ready.

1. Lleyton Hewitt vs. Janko Tipsarevic

This fresh article on the ATP's website touts all the hard work that Janko Tipsarevic has been doing to make himself into a bona fide elite-level player. True, Tipsarevic’s rise from eclectic, mercurial journeyman to top ten stalwart has indeed been electric, but on the other hand so has the career of former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt. Pinned together tightly by screws and bone grafts from multiple surgeries, and still lusting for the competition at the age of 31, Hewitt will no doubt come out firing on all cylinders against the Serb. It ought to be a good one, however it turns out.

Hewitt leads the career head-to-head against Tipsarevic 3-1, but they haven't met since 2009.

2. Caroline Wozniacki vs. Sabine Lisicki

Could the winner of this tilt gain much-needed confidence from a victory and use it as a springboard for a memorable run in Melbourne? The winner will certainly be a lot more confident than the loser, but it might be a stretch to project a run for either slumping player. And yet, the cruel fate that brought two players as popular and accomplished as Lisicki and Wozniacki together in the first round of a Grand Slam is the same fate that is shining upon fans who look for matches like these to brighten the early rounds, which can be too full of one-sided drubbings.

For those interested, Lisicki leads the head-to-head with Wozniacki 2-1, but the two haven’t met since 2009 at Wimbledon.

3. Grigor Dimitrov vs. Julien Benneteau

Grigor Dimitrov vs. anybody would be a hot ticket in the first round at Melbourne, but toss the cagey 31-year-old Frenchman Julien Benneteau in the mix and we just might have a recipe for a five-set epic. Many are expecting this to be a breakout year for the Bulgarian, and he gave good indication that it might be with a final run in Brisbane last week. Until early this week, when Dimitrov put forth such a desultory effort in Sydney on a near-empty sidecourt against Fabio Fognini that it had the Twitterverse calling him a tanker. For the 21-year-old Dimitrova, It was the sort of match that says “I’m not quite mature enough to be a top player yet,” but in reality it might have worked to Dimitrov’s advantage because it allowed him to get some rest.

As for World No. 35 Benneteau, he’s playing some of his best tennis at the age of 31 and he will surely be motivated to advance in what is not a very difficult section of the draw. He'll also be looking to avenge two losses against Dimitrov in 2012, which both went to a third set.

4. Nadia Petrova vs. Kimiko Date-Krumm

If you ever get a chance to see a 42-year-old play a match in a Grand Slam, our advice to you is: DO IT! Kimiko Date-Krumm, a former semifinalist (19 years ago) will be up against a fierce competitor and another well-traveled veteran in Nadia Petrova, who is fifth in career Grand Slam wins among active WTA players with 109. But that doesn’t mean that Date-Krumm doesn’t have a shot to pull a shocker against the powerful Russian. The pair split their only two career meetings in 2010.

5. Gael Monfils vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov

Some athletic genius is bound to be on display in this first-round match-up between two of the most entertaining and enigmatic ball-crushers on the ATP tour. Monfils, back from an injury riddled 2012, has looked pretty solid thus far in 2013. He went out in the quarters in Doha to Daniel Brands, then reached the semis this week in Auckland before getting his lungs ripped out by David Ferrer.

Dolgopolov, currently ranked No. 20, has just enough game to make this match wildly entertaining and just enough flakiness to help turn it into a stranger-than-fiction stroll through an alternate tennis universe.

Other good ones:

Roger Federer vs. Benoit Paire (this could be tricky, as Paire is on the up)
Fernando Verdasco vs. David Goffin (Big and sexy vs. boyish and nerdy)
Melanie Oudin vs. Laura Robson (fallen star vs. rising star)
Sam Stosur vs. Kai-Chen Chang (Gulp)
Petra Kvitova vs. Francisco Schiavone (Glad one of these fine players will reach the second round)

(Photo Credit: Corleve)