Day 4 : João Pedro Coelho Marinho de Sousa this is your day

Yes, it's Day 4 from a very humid Australian Open which was lacking air like Andre Agassi is lacking hair.

Sousa vs. Kohlschreiber

This was the highlight match of the day, the classic match up between the shotmaker and the grinder in very hot and humid conditions. In the previous round Joao Sousa played a very tough & high quality match with Guido Pella overcoming him in 5 sets. I thought this one would be a 4 setter but this was proven to be incorrect.

Kohli rocking the purple shoes think I may have to get a pair is a little bit off not passive but not aggressive , he was struggling to impose himself on the match. Sousa has dialled in 1800 time to grind, placing the serve well and looking to extend the rallies working Kohli side to side using the off forehand pinning Kohli deep in the corner. Sousa takes the 1st set, there was very little between them.


Sousa

The 2nd set continues along the same way as the opening set, the difference was that Sousa played a sloppy game and was made to pay for it. Kohlschreber breaks and able to take the 2nd set. In such a close encouter the 3rd set was going to be key especially in the heat, there weren't many opportunities to break. They get to the buster where Sousa was just more solid using the off forehand to dominate and takes a 2 sets to lead.



In the 4th set Sousa just dropped the level a bit, though he had a great serve for an absolute idiot who was walking in to the court in between points this was at *5-6. Sousa did not miss and it's something that has become plague like, then again at the US Open they will either call the police or shoot you. Kohli finally breaks on the 9th break pont to take the set 7-5.

At the start of the 5th set Kohli has a bit of a letdown and Sousa breaks serve. From there Sousa who is tougher than $2 steak was using his off forehand tempting to Kohli hit the backhand down the line which he wasn't able to hit often enough. Sousa did not lose serve for the rest of the match and a well deserved celebration at the end.

Shapovalov vs. Daniel

This was quite a fun match the young Canadian Shapovalov playing some aggressive tennis and flashy shots against Taro Daniel who was serving well & attempting to use his forehand.

The main take away from this match is that Shapovalov is just a better player on a quick hardcourt than Daniel. There was some stop start with the annoying rain drops which get the lines all wet, it was difficult to get momentum. Shapo had one break point in the 1st set and was able to take it with aggressive play.


Shapovalov


In the 2nd set, Daniel forced break points but was unable to convert due to some excellent play from Shapo along with not making a few returns. Daniel needed to win the 2nd set tiebreaker to have any chance in this match as the only way he could turn this around was Shapo making a lot of errors which did not happen in the tiebreaker. Shapo takes a 2 sets to 0 lead.

The 3rd set was pretty much the same as the 1st, Shapo just needed the one break and was able to run the match out comfortably. Daniel was 0/7 on break points and Shapovalov was 2/2 that's efficency.

Good for Taro D to sign autographs after the match even though he lost, most players tend to get off the court as soon as possible.

Talking Points


Fognini

The Fog won easily against the Alligator Leo Mayer and had an interesting outfit. I don't mind but there are others who disagree.

Danil Medvedev the less douchey racist routinely took out Ryan Harrison which is always a good day for the sport.

Pouolle and Marterer was an entertaining match wth both guys going for it. Pouille was very generous with the fans after the match, plus he hates the Pique Cup so points for him.

Alex Bolt is somehow in the 3rd round that's tennis for you. Gilles Simon that is one of the worst losses of his career.

Spoke to the ESPN Latin American guys, they interviewed Pablo Cuevas last night and stated that was the most downcast they've seen him after a loss in a long time. That's the thing about the sport, some days you will play well and not win, others you play like crap, yet get the W. Well it's a bit like life isn't it