Doubles partners Stan Wawrinka and Frances Tiafoe will kick off their singles campaigns at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Tuesday. Wawrinka battles Jeremy Chardy in the second round, while Tiafoe faces Marton Fucsovics in the first round.
(1) Stan Wawrinka vs. Jeremy Chardy
Doha top seed Stan Wawrinka takes the court on Tuesday against veteran Jeremy Chardy. Ordinarily, Chardy would be a tricky first opponent. The Frenchman, whose ranking slipped to No. 80 in the world last summer, had a good end to 2019, and sits at No. 54. The ranking boost allowed Chardy to bypass qualies in Doha.
Unfortunately for the Frenchman, that’s where his good fortune seems to have ended. He dropped a set to qualifier Gregoire Barrere in the first round, then drew the tournament top seed in the second. Worse for Chardy is that he has a dismal 0-6 record against the Swiss. Their most recent encounter came at the 2019 US Open, where Wawrinka prevailed in four.
Wawrinka, who has battled knee injuries for the past several seasons, hasn’t won a title since 2017–a situation he is surely keen to rectify in the desert this week.
Cheryl pick: Wawrinka in 2
Ricky pick: Wawrinka in 2
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(8) Frances Tiafoe vs. (Q) Marton Fucsovics
Frances Tiafoe closed out his 2019 season in fine fashion, posting a semifinal showing at the Next Gen ATP Finals–where he went out to a red-hot Alex de Minaur. The American kicks off his Doha singles campaign against qualifier Marton Fucsovics, while also taking the doubles court with Wawrinka.
Fucsovics, who beat Tiafoe in their only other meeting, comes into Doha off an end-of-season slump. The Hungarian was ranked as high as 31st in the world last March, but he absorbed a series of early losses and now finds himself ranked No. 70.
The American should have the edge coming into this first-round encounter. He ended the 2019 season in good form and his loss to Fucsovics came back in 2018 on the dirt.
Cheryl pick: Tiafoe in 3
Ricky pick: Fucsovics in 3
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Who ya got?
Fucs