Nadal-Verdasco, Hewitt headline AusOpen Day 2 matches to watch

Australian Open 2016 Day 2 matches to watch: Lleyton Hewitt, Victoria Azarenka, Andy Murray, Venus Williams, Nadal-Verdasco and more in action in Melbourne.

Author:
Jamie Lisanti
Publish date:
Jan 17, 2016

Here are the matches to watch on Tuesday on Day 2 of the 2016 Australian Open in Melbourne. Play begins on all courts at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Click here for the full order of play, and see the full TV schedule here.

Nadal takes on Verdasco in 2009 epic rematch

Rafael Nadal will meet Fernando Verdasco (third match, Rod Laver) on Tuesday in a rematch of their 2009 Australian Open semifinals match that lasted for five hours and 14 minutes. Nadal won the match 6–7(4), 6–4, 7–6(2), 6–7(1), 6–4 and went on to defeat Roger Federer in the final to claim the only Australian Open title of his career.

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Hewitt leads night session lineup

Lleyton Hewitt will begin his 20th and final Australian Open on Tuesday night on Rod Laver, where he’ll face compatriot James Duckworth. The 34-year-old hasn't made it past the second round since 2012 and in the only time he made it past the fourth round was in 2005, when he lost in final to Marat Safin.

Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka will follow Hewitt on Rod Laver, beginning her Melbourne campaign against Alison Van Uytvanck.

Murray, Halep, Wawrinka on Margaret Court

2015 Australian Open semifinalist Madison Keys will begin the day on Margaret Court against Zarina Diyas. In the second match, No. 2-seed Andy Murray will begin his quest for his first Australian Open title against 18-year-old Alexander Zverev, a player he knows well but will surely be a test for Murray.

“He's a big guy obviously for his age,” Murray said of the 6’6” German teen. “Of the young guys coming through, by far the tallest of them, which has obviously benefits. At the age he's at just now can cause a few issues, as well, until you kind of fill out into your physique.

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“But he's got a very good game. He serves well. For a big guy, moves pretty well, too. Yeah, he's obviously improving all the time…Yeah, it will be a tough match.”

Second-seeded Simona Halep will kick off the night session on Margaret Court against China’s Shuai Zhang and Stan Wawrinka will follow, taking on Dmitry Tursunov in his opener.

Americans face off on Court 14

Madison Brengle and Coco Vandeweghe (first match, Court 14) will kick off the slate of All-American matchups on Tuesday. At last year’s Australian Open, Brengle defeated Vandeweghe 6–3, 6–2. Also on Court 14 later in the day, Jack Sock will take on young American Taylor Fritz. Sock is coming off a good run in Auckland, where he beat David Ferrer and Kevin Anderson en route to the final but was forced to retire because of illness. Fritz has also been playing well as of late, working his way through qualies to earn himself a spot in the main draw and winning his third ATP Challenger title in Happy Valley, Australia, just last week.

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Other Americans also in action include Victoria Duval, who will take on No. 18-seed Elina Svitolina (first match, Court 15) and Samantha Crawford, who plays Danka Kovinic (fourth match, Court 15). For the men, No. 10-seed John Isner plays Jerzy Janowicz (third match, Show Court 2) and Donald Young is also in action against Santiago Giraldo (second match, Court 5).

More matches to watch:

Simone Bolelli vs. Brian Baker (first match, Court 10): After a three-year break from tennis due to injuries and various surgeries— left hip (twice), right hip, a sports hernia and elbow reconstruction—Baker used his protected ranking to gain main-draw entry into the Australian Open.

[tweet=https://twitter.com/BBakesTennis/status/686418976516083713]

Venus Williams vs. Johanna Konta (second match, Rod Laver): The last (and only) time the pair played was in October in Wuhan, when Venus fought off Konta in three sets to book a spot in the semifinals. Expect another hard-fought battle.

Gael Monfils vs. Yuichi Sugita (first match, Court 6): The Frenchman hasn’t played since taking a loss to Benoit Paire at the Paris Masters in November, but Monfils is sure to entertain, so tune in.