Australian Open 2012 live stream

In the 12th year of playing each other, there’s one constant of the Lleyton Hewitt-Andy Roddick rivalry – they almost always play competitive matches.

Roddick leads the head-to-head 7-6 and has won their last six encounters, but none have been one-sided. For example, in their last Grand Slam meeting in the 2009 Wimbledon quarter-finals, the American won 6-3, 6-7(10), 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-4.

Now ranked No. 16 and No. 181 respectively, neither Roddick, 29, nor Hewitt, 30, are near their primes after injuries and many gruelling years on tour. But they should still be able to put on an entertaining show at Rod Laver Arena tonight.

Roddick has to be the favourite but Hewitt, likely in his last go-round in Australia, is a gritty battler and the partisan crowd’s support might just be enough to push him over the finish line.

Top seed Novak Djokovic should have too much game for Santiago Giraldo of Colombia but the Milos Raonic – Philipp Petzschner match-up is interesting both in and of itself and because the winner will next face whomever survives between Roddick and Hewitt (and then likely have to play Djokovic).

Raonic beat Petzschner late last year indoors in Stockholm after the German had taken him out on grass in Halle in June.

The 6-foot-5 Canadian is riding an amazing 60 straight holds of serve in 2012 – 48 while winning the title in Chennai two weeks ago and 12 in his opening-round victory over Filippo Volandri. He reached the round-of-16 at Melbourne Park a year ago and will be favoured against Petzschner.

Of the other Aussies besides Hewitt in action, wild card James Duckworth would appear over-matched against ninth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic while Mathew Ebden stands a better chance versus No. 24, Kei Nishikori.

The French call matches between compatriots “Franco-Francais” and there is a tasty one on Thursday between 12th-seeded Gilles Simon, 27, and Julien Benneteau, 30. Simon has won their last three meetings and should have a freshness advantage over Benneteau, who played the Sydney final on Sunday.

Serena Williams, after showing good form on Tuesday night despite her sundry lower-leg woes, faces the energetic Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova. Though the 25-year-old Czech twice won the Aussie Open junior event, she has rarely performed at a level in the pro game that suggests she can threaten even a not totally fit Williams in their first ever meeting.

Second seed Petra Kvitova has two previous victories over Carla Suarez Navarro and will likely win in straight sets for a third time in a row.

In three matches featuring players who are the same age, Maria Kirilenko (24) should be wary of Aleksandra Wozniak (24), 25th-seeded Roberta Vinci (28) will face Jie Zheng (28) in a match-up of unconventionalstylists, and Sorana Cirstea (21) plays Urszula Radwanska (21) hoping to not have a letdown after her major upset of Samantha Stosur on Monday.

Maria Sharapova, 24 and with $16 million (US) in prize money, takes on American qualifier Jamie Hampton, 22 and with official earnings of $235,000.

Money isn’t everything but in this case it tells the story.