Andy Murray will be pleased with Australian Open draw, says Barry Cowan
Johanna Konta must 'get back down to earth and go again' after Sydney triumph
Friday 13 January 2017 13:22, UK
Barry Cowan thinks Andy Murray's Australian Open draw is "pretty good" as the British world No 1 bids to capture a first title in Melbourne after five agonising near misses.
The three-time Grand Slam winner has been drawn in the same section as Roger Federer - the pair could meet in the quarter-finals - and will begin his campaign against Ukraine's world No 93 Illya Marchenko.
Yen-Hsun Lu, ranked 61 in the world, is a likely round two opponent but Murray's route could become tougher from the third round onwards, with Sam Querrey - Novak Djokovic's conqueror at Wimbledon last year - lying in wait.
"Marchenko is a perfect kind of opponent for Andy to start with," said Sky Sports analyst Cowan. "He's a very good player who will hit a lot of balls in and Andy is going to do a lot of running, but ultimately he has got too much class.
"For someone like Murray, who likes rhythm, it's better to play a Marchenko than opposed to a Gilles Muller type player.
"And then the test comes with Sam Querrey - you're not going to underestimate him. The last time he was placed in the top of a draw at a Grand Slam, he beat Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.
"Then he could potentially face John Isner, who I would put above unpredictable Frenchman Lucas Pouille as someone who could trouble Andy.
"It's not a bad draw, although there's more of a threat coming from Isner's end of the court than from some of the other seeds, who are higher."
Murray could then potentially face Federer in the last eight, Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals with defending champion Novak Djokovic waiting for him in the final once more, although Cowan is not looking too far ahead.
"Federer has been dealt a great draw early on (he will face qualifiers in the opening two rounds) and I know he played well in Perth, but that was an exhibition," Cowan added.
"It's a different type of tournament when you're at a Grand Slam. And he could then face Czech Tomas Berdych in the third round, which is always likely to happen when you're seeded 17th.
"Then obviously further on from that, there's Kei Nishikori, and who knows beyond that. But for Federer, if the Australian Open is as quick as what Sydney is, then that would help him.
"Traditionally, I'm not someone who looks too deep in majors. There are so many good players that can get hot. Wawrinka could get hot, but he could also lose to Steve Johnson in the second round. There's also Marin Cilic lurking, and the likes of Nick Kyrgios, Jack Sock and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga."
Cowan chose Djokovic's encounter with Spanish left-hander Fernando Verdasco as his pick of the first round matches, which is a repeat of their Qatar Open semi-final, which the Serb won after saving five match points.
"It could be very tough, but I actually think Djokovic will win, probably in three straight," he said. "When Verdasco played as well as he did in Doha, and you have a bit of the mental baggage that he has when you fail to convert a match, I think it makes it much worse the next time you play your opponent."
He also paid tribute to British No 1 Johanna Konta, but warned that she must "get back down to earth and go again" following her second WTA title at the Sydney International on Friday.
Konta capped an impressive week and ahead of the Australian Open with a dominant 6-4 6-2 win over Agnieszka Radwanska.
"Jo has improved so much and hit Radwanska off the court. Against someone as clever as the Pole, who can usually play her game, Jo was just amazing, very impressive performance," said Cowan.
"This is a continuation of her progression. She has improved almost every week she's played over the last 20 months or so now.
"She's got a tough draw though, and this will all be new to her. She's played her best ever tennis and I think to come back next week is very tough, emotionally more than physically. But it bodes well for this year, irrespective of what she does in Melbourne."
Check Johanna Konta's progress and our game-by-game updates from Andy Murray's matches at the 2017 Australian Open by following our blog on skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad or our Twitter account @skysportstennis.
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