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With the 'warming up' period well and truly over, there is some unmistakably competitive Round 3 action lined up for Day 6 of the Australian Open. Setting the courts on fire, among others, would be defending champion Novak Djokovic, the remarkably agile Lleyton Hewitt, last year's finalist Andy Murray, Russian diva Maria Sharapova, Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and 5-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams.

The Serbian world no.1, all set to make his Hollywood debut by the end of this year, will face the Frenchman who specialises in fighting tooth and nail - Nicolas Mahut. Novak Djokovic hasn't been troubled in the defence of his title as yet and with the ominous form that he is in, Mahut's chances of playing 'party pooper' look slim. A win here would set up an interesting Round of 16 duel against the winner of the Milos Raonic - Lleyton Hewitt match.

With Bernard Tomic becoming the second Aussie native since 2010 to reach round 4 of the Open on Friday, the man whom he emulated - Lleyton Hewitt - would hope that his remarkable spirit takes him another step forward. His task, and quite expectedly considering the quality on display, doesn't get any easier as the baby-faced 23rd seed Raonic is mentally and physically ready to gun down the Aussie with his slam-bang style of play. The evening crowds at Rod Laver Arena are expected to get their money's worth in this one.

Andy Murray, who is British when he is winning but becomes Scottish on tasting defeat, will renew his effort to 'remain British' throughout the first slam of the year under the watchful eyes of his coach Ivan Lendl. The Brit holds a 2-0 advantage over his round 3 opponent, the mercurial serve and volleying expert Michael Llodra and though Llodra has a habit of unnerving the top guns, Murray will be expected to advance to round 4.

In one of the most evenly balanced matches of the day, 9th seed Janko Tipsarevic and 17th seed Frenchman Richard Gasquet lock horns in the third match on the Margaret Court Arena. A thrilling 3 to 4 hours of relentless baseline hitting are a distinct possibility with Gasquet holding a slight edge because of a more tactically astute game. The edge is far more pronounced in the case of the two French musketeers Tsonga and Monfils as they take on unheralded Portuguese Frederico Gil and journeyman Mikhail Kukushkin respectively.

Notwithstanding a few exceptions, the destructive power ladies haven't faced much resistance in the sweltering Melbourne heat and the story, by and large, should remain the same on Day 6. However, one of the six who could be no.1 when tournament ends, Petra Kvitova, can't let her guard down as she faces No.27 seed Maria Kirilenko. Kirilenko is one of the few players on the women's tour who has a positive record against Kvitova(2-1) and though Kvitova is the player with the more potent groundstrokes, it will be interesting to see how she responds to Kirilenko's challenge. A three set grind is written all over this one.

The fiery Maria Sharapova and legendary Serena Williams would start as the overwhelming favourites in their matches against the German Angelique Kerber and the Hungarian surprise package Greta Arn, respectively. Both have been in ominous form with Sharapova exclusively dealing in bagels and breadsticks in her first two matches and Williams totally overpowering and 'outgrunting' her hapless competitors. However, the high-voltage duel on the women's side is the one between the former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and 2011 Wimbledon semi-finalist Sabine Lisicki. It will be a battle of youth versus experience, Lisicki's big serve v the Russian's tremendous forehands...even the pundits may chose to sit on the fence on this one.

Some other noteworthy matches to look forward to are: Sorana Cirstea (the woman who buried Sam Stosur in round 1) v Sara Errani, Julien Benneteau v. Kei Nishikori and Ana Ivanovic v. Vania King. The Indians to look forward to are : Paes in 1st round mixed doubles action with partner Elena Vesnina, Sania-Vesnina combo in round 2 and Bhupathi and Bopanna in their 2nd round encounter. Follow this space closely to keep track of the Hewitt dreamrun and the Indian juggernaut.

Schedule: Day 6

Rod Laver Start Time 11:00 am
Maria Kirilenko (RUS)[27]  v. Petra Kvitova (CZE)[2]
Angelique Kerber (GER)[30]  v. Maria Sharapova (RUS)[4]
Novak Djokovic (SRB)[1]  v. Nicolas Mahut (FRA)

Rod Laver Start Time 7:00 am
Greta Arn (HUN)  v. Serena Williams (USA)[12]
Milos Raonic (CAN)[23]  v. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)

Hisense Arena Start Time 11:00 am
Frederico Gil (POR)  v. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[6]
Vania King (USA)  v. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)[21]
Sabine Lisicki (GER)[14]  v. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)[18]

Hisense Arena Start Time 7:00 pm
Andy Murray (GBR)[4]  v. Michael Llodra (FRA)

Margaret Court Arena Not before 12:30 pm
Vera Zvonareva (RUS)[7]  v. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)[9]  v. Richard Gasquet (FRA)[17]
Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ)  v. Gael Monfils (FRA)[14]

Other noteworthy matches:
Sorana Cirstea (ROU)  v. Sara Errani (ITA)
Julien Benneteau (FRA)  v. Kei Nishikori (JPN)[24]
Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG)[27]  v. David Ferrer (ESP)[5]

File Photograph Copyright: Dubai Open