Day six of the Australian Open 2018 is easily the most exciting so far, with many heavyweight clashes to look forward to, bearing in mind the chances of upsets too and the favourites exiting the tournament at the third round.
Angelique Kerber vs Maria Sharapova
This is easily the main women's singles match of the day, taking place inside the Rod Laver Arena.
Read: Birthday girl Kerber sets up Sharapova clash
The German, Kerber, beat Donna Vekic of Croatia in the second round to set up this round of 32 clash against 2008 Australian Open winner Maria Sharapova. The unseeded Russian has secured straight-sets victories in the first and second round and has been in good form since the start of this year, reaching the final of Shenzhen Open along the way.
The Russian is known for her ground strokes and power game, but then Kerber boasts a solid good defensive game, meaning the two players have very little to choose between them and should treat the crowd to a truly great match.
This duo has met seven times before, with Sharapova winning four to Kerber's three. This pair last met way back in 2015, when Kerber won a tight contest in Stuttgart in three sets.
Tomas Berdych vs Juan Martin del Potro
Equally as exciting a match on the men's side is Berdych taking on del Potro for a place in the round of 16.
Berdych has overcome Alex de Minaur and Garcia Lopez in the opening two rounds, winning in four sets on both occasions. His third-round opponent, del Potro, has been on the court for a longer time (5h 59m) and fatigue might be a factor for the Argentine.
Del Potro leads the head to head record by five to three, also winning the last meeting in Cincinnati.
Su-Wei Hsieh vs Agnieszka Radwanska
Chinese Taipei's Hsieh has caused arguably the biggest upset of the tournament in knocking out Garbine Muguruza in the second round, in straight sets too.
Radwanska, for her part, has reached the third round on the back of victories over Ukraine's Tsurenko and Kristyna Pliskova of Czech Republic.
Hsieh's unorthodox style of play is something to look out for when she takes on Poland's Radwanska in the third round.
Richard Gasquet vs Roger Federer
Gasquet and Federer are set to meet for the 19th time, the former having won just two of his meetings with the Swiss master.
Read: Federer eases past Struff
Both these men have progressed to the third round on the back of identical results, dispatching their first and second-round opponents in straight sets and spending less than four hours on the court.
Federer is pretty much everyone's favourite to retain his title from last year and thereby secure his 19th overall Slam. Gasquet is expected to provide him a sterner challenge, but you'll back Federer to overcome it and book his place in the fourth round.
Dominic Thiem vs Adrian Mannarino
Dominic Thiem came back in dramatic fashion in the second round to beat America's Denis Kudla: the Austrian won the third, fourth and fifth sets after losing the first two, to be here.
Seeded 26th, Mannarino won his first and second-round matches in three and four sets, respectively.
Thiem and Mannarino have played each other six times and the Austrian has won each of those meetings. While he has the psychological edge over his Argentine opponent, the near-four-hour-match against Kudla might test his fitness level a touch.
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