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Australian Open day seven preview: Djokovic faces late fitness decision ahead of Raonic clash

Defending Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic faces a late decision as to whether he will meet Canadian Milos Raonic in the fourth round on Valentine’s Day.

The World No.1 missed training on Saturday morning to undergo medical examinations after picking up a suspected torn muscle during a hotly-contested five-set victory over Taylor Fritz on Friday.

Djokovic will be desperate not to pull out against Raonic as he eyes a record-extending ninth Australian Open Grand Slam win.

The winner of the Djokovic-Raonic clash will face either Alexander Zverev or Dusan Lajovic in the quarter-final.

Zverev will be the favourite against Lajovic, who is yet to progress past the fourth round of a Grand Slam.

Elsewhere Dominic Thiem faces Grigor Dimitrov and Felix Auger-Aliassime faces qualifier Aslan Karatsev, the surprise of the tournament so far.

In the women’s draw there is an intriguing matchup involving 19-year-old sensation Iga Swiatek and Romanian Simona Halep.

World No.2 Halep reached the Australian Open final in 2018 and is a two-time Grand Slam champion, though was demolished by Swiatek on her way to a French Open victory last year.

It’s one of a number of high-profile matches on Sunday that also sees Serena Williams play Aryna Sabalenka and Garbine Muguruza face Naomi Osaka.

The final women’s match of the day is unseeded Su-Wei Hsieh against Marketa Vondrousova.

Featured image credit: Carine06 via Wikimedia Commons

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