Novak Djokovic hits a return to David Ferrer during their final tennis match at Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.(Reuters)
Novak Djokovic hits a return to David Ferrer during their final tennis match at Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.(Reuters)

The first four days of the 2014 Australian Open mostly features matches that are rather one-sided. In Day 5 or the third round of competition in both the men’s and women’s sides, expect more matches to be a lot closer— meaning, less straight sets victories--- as the seeded players or those who are playing with confidence at least, finally face-off in the hard court.

On Friday, among the top seeds playing are third seed David Ferrer of Spain; seventh seed Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic; and first seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

Safe to say, some of the matches—particularly of Djokovic and Berdych, both of whom are huge favourites in the betting lines— still has potential to be as one-sided as with the matches in the previous rounds. Still, the upset window is much more open at this stage of the tournament.

Ferrer meets Jeremy Chardy of France, Berdych takes on D. Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Djokovic faces Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan. Can the top seeds continue playing well? Or will we finally see a giant slain on the fifth day?

Aside from watching Djokovic and Berdych dominate, here are the other matches you should watch (and bet on) on Friday, January 17th at the Australian Open. Maybe, you’ll catch an upset or two.

Florian Mayer (GER) vs. #20 Jerzy Janowicz (POL) at 11:00 a.m. AEDT
Match Odds: Mayer (1.50) vs. Janowicz (2.46)
Game Handicap: Mayer (-2.5) vs. Janowicz (+2.5)

All-time head-to-head meeting (1 match): Mayer leads Janowicz, 1-0

Prediction: Janowicz def. Mayer, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-5

#29 Jeremy Chardy (FRA) vs. #3 David Ferrer (SPA) at 12:30 p.m. AEDT
Match Odds: Chardy (3.24) vs. #3 Ferrer (1.31)
Game Handicap: Chardy (+4.5) vs. #3 Ferrer (-4.5)

All-time head-to-head meetings (5 matches): Ferrer leads Chardy, 4-1

Prediction: Ferrer def. Chardy, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 (Ferrer wins match but fails to cover the game spread)

#17 Tommy Robredo (SPA) vs. #9 Richard Gasquet (FRA) at 7:00 p.m. AEDT
Match Odds: Robredo (2.82) vs. Gasquet (1.4)
Game Handicap: Robredo (+4.5) vs. Gasquet (-4.5)

All-time head-to-head meetings (4 matches): series tied, 2-2

Prediction: Robredo def. Gasquet, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 (Robredo wins match and covers the game spread)

Watch Day 5 matches of the 2014 Australian Open via AO TV Live at the tournament's official website.