Stanislas Wawrinka and Marcos Baghdatis will be facing each other for the second time in less than a month when they battle for a Bangkok quarterfinal spot on Thursday. Meanwhile, Dmitry Tursunov is going up against Pablo Carreno Busta.
Marcos Baghdatis vs. (2) Stanislas Wawrinka
Baghdatis and Wawrinka will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers and for the second time this season when they collide in round two of the Malaysian Open on Thursday. They just squared off at the U.S. Open, where Wawrinka survived a third-round showdown 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(1), 7-6(7) en route to the semifinals. The Swiss has won all three of their previous meetings, having also prevailed at the 2008 Indian Wells Masters and the 2012 Australian Open.
Wawrinka, who is contesting his opener this week after a first-round bye, is an awesome 42-16 for the year. Up to No. 10 in the world, he is eighth in the 2013 race to London. Baghdatis kicked off his Kuala Lumpur campaign with a 7-6(3), 6-3 victory over Carlos Berlocq on Wednesday. The 48th-ranked Cypriot is showing signs of emerging from a disastrous early-season slump, as a quarterfinal finish in Washington, D.C. preceded his U.S. Open performance. Baghdatis is finally playing with some confidence, but Wawrinka should once again have a little bit too much firepower–especially on an indoor hard court.
Pick: Wawrinka in 3
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(6) Dmitry Tursunov vs. Pablo Carreno Busta
Tursunov and Carreno Busta will be squaring off for the first time in their careers on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur. This is a rare appearance at the ATP level for Carreno Busta, who owns a 6-4 record this season and is 6-5 for his career. The 66th-ranked Spaniard, who has been dominant on the Futures circuit, beat Alex Bogomolov 7-6(0), 6-0 in the first round.
If 2013 has been a breakout year for Carreno Busta, it has been a resurgent campaign for Tursunov. The 30-year-old Russian is finally armed with a clean bill of health and a 27-16 record has him back up to No. 36 in the world. Tursunov reached the third round of the U.S. Open and he took care of Rajeev Ram 7-5, 6-0 on Wednesday. Carreno Busta is capable on all surfaces but he is at his best on clay, whereas Tursunov’s serve and flat, penetrating groundstrokes can be lethal on this surface.
Pick: Tursunov in 2
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Sadly, now aged 28, Baggy is looking less and less likely to salvage what once seemed a promising career. But repeated disappointments have done nothing to dim his enjoyment of playing and his matches are always good value to watch.
he’s had a solid career. The 2006 Aussie Open was always going to be a fluke.