Former champion Stan Wawrinka will continue his campaign at Roland Garros when he takes the court against Fabio Fognini on Saturday. An all-French affair, meanwhile, will feature Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet.
(3) Stan Wawrinka vs. (28) Fabio Fognini
Wawrinka and Fognini will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers at the ATP level when they clash in round three of the French Open on Saturday. The head-to-head series stands at 4-1 in favor of Wawrinka, who has won both of their previous clay-court encounters. They also faced each other at the same stage of this tournament in 2010, when Wawrinka cruised 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.
Fognini and wife Flavia Pennetta recently welcomed their first child, but for the most part the 29th-ranked Italian has been able to focus on tennis when necessary. He pushed Rafael Nadal to three sets in Madrid and upset world No. 1 Andy Murray in Rome before falling to eventual champion Alexander Zverev. Fognini survived a five-setter against Frances Tiafoe in his Roland Garros opener and then picked up the pace to trounce countryman Andreas Seppi 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 on Thursday. Wawrinka’s clay-court buildup was far from encouraging (a 6-3 record in four tournaments), but he at least managed to pick up momentum with a 250-point title last week in Geneva. The third-ranked Swiss and 2015 champion has parlayed that into a pair of convincing wins at Roland Garros–straight-setters at the expense of Jozef Kovalik and Alexandr Dolgopolov. Now that he has found his mojo again, it should only be full steam ahead for Wawrinka.
Pick: Wawrinka in 3
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(24) Richard Gasquet vs. (15) Gael Monfils
The good news for France is that at least one man from the host nation will advance to the second week. On the other hand, either Monfils or Gasquet will be gone on Saturday because they are forced to go head-to-head for the 14th time in their careers. Monfils is leading the head-to-head series by a slim 7-6 margin, but he fell 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2 earlier this season on the indoor hard courts of Marseille for his second loss in a row to Gasquet. In Grand Slams, Monfils is 2-1 with a 2007 Australian Open loss and a pair of straight-set beatdowns at the U.S. Open (2010, 2014)
The world No. 16 is 29-10 lifetime at Roland Garros with one semifinal performance and three other quarterfinal finishes. He is back in the third round this year–despite a short an unimpressive clay-court swing–following three-set routs of Dustin Brown and Thiago Monteiro. Gasquet, a quarterfinalist in 2016, dropped one set in his opener but still made similarly routine work of Arthur De Greef and Victor Estrella Burgos. The 24th seed is 13-6 this season and just 3-2 since the end of February because of appendix surgery. In a matchup between two somewhat rusty competitors who remain physical question marks, Monfils seems to be back at a better level than his compatriot right now.
Pick: Monfils in 3
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who ya got?
I got both Stan and Gael in 4. Although Stan in 3 wouldn’t surprise
Wawrinka, chung, cuevas and Monfils should win ……… http://www.138mph.com/murray-delpo-nishikori-wawrinka-and-monfils-wholl-win-his-round/
Stan in four and gasquet in five
Phew Stan is doing better than I expected. Seems Fognini lost the plot after having all those chances leads set points etc. in the first set.
Yeah…it’s disappointing from a Fognini fan pov. I thought he’d compete better than this, not that I had great hope in FF winning. Losing the first set killed it. It’s incredible how fast Stan can shape up at the right time.
Stan does seem to gotten himself going just in time. Fog doesn’t surprise me here. He can lose it mentally when the going gets tough.
Nny
Did you see Stan in his first two matches in Geneva? I’ve been watching him with great interest because when his stomach love handles go from protruding to all muscle…watch out!
Fognini disappoints this time at FO. I’m a big fan of him trying his best at FO — he’s won a couple 5 set thrillers here over the years and that’s the Fognini I hoped to watch. He isn’t getting any younger, chances for a deeper run here are slipping away – and he can be so good on clay.
rc,
No I did not see Stan in his first two matches at Geneva. Love what you said about his love handles! I guess he knows how to get in shape! It was also a good decision for him to play in Geneva,
I know you like Fog. He’s not one of my favorites. For the reason you mentioned. I don’t think he is committed to playing his best all the time. He’s up and down. Fog has the game to do well for sure. But he just isn’t willing or able to play at that level consistently.
Stan and Murray both dishing out bagels.
Wawrinka to win the final. 2nd best player in the world on clay behind Nadal when he brings his A game.
Yeah I think Stan in the final would be the biggest challenge to anyone on the other side of the draw, and by some margin. Murray’s slowly finding form, but would easily be wiped by Nadal (or Djokovic if he somehow made it, which he won’t). Cilic v Wawa would be an exciting QF match-up.
If Stan should end up winning this tournament, it would be through possibly the toughest slam draw ever. From R2: Dolgopolov, Fognini, Monfils, Cilic, Murray, Nadal/Djokovic. Three slam winners and three incredibly talented, dangerous players.
Cilic and Murray are playing themselves into form, but you still have to favour Stan to get to the final at this point.