Jan 16, 2019
Canadians in tough on Day 4 at Australian Open on TSN
Bianca Andreescu, Milos Raonic and Eugenie Bouchard are all in tough on Day 4 at the Australian Open. Andreescu will face No. 13 Anastasija Sevastova, Raonic is up against former tournament champion Stan Wawrinka and Bouchard is up against Serena Williams. Denis Shapovalov will play Taro Daniel in a more favourable matchup.
TSN.ca Staff
The Canadians are back in action on Day 4 at the Australian Open after a well-deserved day of rest.
Milos Raonic, Denis Shapovalov, Eugenie Bouchard and Bianca Andreescu all advanced to the second round of the first major tournament of the year.
Andreescu be among the first on the court as she takes on 13th-seeded Anastasija Sevastova at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Raonic's match against Stan Wawrinka will take place at Rod Laver Arena at approximately 8:15 p.m. ET/5:15 p.m. PT immediately following the match between Viktoria Kuzmova and Elina Svitolina.
Shapovalov is the last Canadian to take the court during the day session as he takes on Taro Daniel of Japan at approximately 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT.
Bouchard rounds out the Canadian singles action as she takes on seven-time Aussie Open champion Serena Williams on centre court at 3 a.m. ET/Midnight PT.
Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski will also be in action. Her doubles team is seeded third (teammate Yifan Xu of China) and will kick off Day 4 action with a first-round match-up against Barbora Strycova and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Andreescu vs Sevastova - LIVE ON TSN2 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Andreescu continues to ride a wave of momentum after her first-career major tournament match victory against American Whitney Osuigwe on Tuesday. Before this match, she won all three qualifying matches to reach this level and is coming off her first ever WTA final appearance at the ASB Classic in New Zealand two weeks ago. In that tournament, she defeated Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams.
Sevastova, who is seeded 13th, will be looking to advance to the third round of the Aussie Open for the first time since 2017. She made short work of her first-round opponent by defeating Germany's Mona Barthel in straight sets.
Raonic vs Wawrinka - LIVE ON TSN2 at (approx.) 8:15 p.m. ET/5:15 p.m. PT
Raonic kicked off his tournament with an impressive straight sets victory over Australian Nick Kyrgios by defeating him in straight sets.
"He played unbelievable. Never seen serving like that in my life," Kyrgios told reporters in his post-match news conference. "I've never been a part of it. I was just watching it literally go side to side."
Wawrinka and Raonic have met on the ATP on six previous occasions. Although Wawrinka holds a 4-2 record over the native of Thornhill, Ont., Raonic has won the last two meetings between the competitors, including their only previous meeting at the Aussie Open back in 2016.
Shapovalov vs. Daniel - LIVE ON TSN5 at (approx.) 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT.
Shapovalov advanced to the second round by defeating Pablo Andujar of Spain in straight sets. Although his game on the court was strong, his social game went silent when he revealed following the match that he had been "kicked out" of his Twitter account.
"Please, Twitter, let me back in," Shapovalov told reporters.
The forced break some social media has allowed the Canadian to focus on his game.
Daniel advanced after his Australian opponent Thanasi Kokkinankis was forced to retire due to injury in the second set. Kokkinankis took the first set over Daniel 7-5.
Bouchard vs. Williams - LIVE ON TSN3 at 3 a.m ET/Midnight PT.
Bouchard advanced to the second round by defeating wild-card opponent Peng Shuai of China in less than an hour. Her dominant performance in the match should provide the Canadian with the confidence necessary to take on a seven-time Australian Open champion in Williams.
Bouchard had made it clear that she intends to make 2019 the year she returns to the results similar to when she broke out five years ago with a semi-final appearance at the tournament followed by a finals appearance at Wimbledon.
A win against Williams would put Bouchard back on the right track.
Gabriela Dabrowski(CAN)/Yifan Xu vs. Barbora Strycova and Marketa Vondrousova LIVE ON TSN.ca & TSN App at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Gabriela Dabrowski(CAN)/Yifan Xu vs. Barbora Strycova and Marketa Vondrousova LIVE ON TSN.ca & TSN App at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Dabrowski is in search of her first career grand slam women's doubles title. She currently has eight WTA tournament victories, but her best showing at the Aussie open is a quarterfinal appearance last year.
Dabrowski is the two-time defending Aussie Open champion in mixed-doubles which kicks off later in the tournament.