Stan Wawrinka will kick off his Geneva campaign in front of a pro-Swiss crowd when he takes the court on Wednesday against Lukas Rosol. Thomaz Bellucci and Denis Istomin are also in second-round action.
(1) Stan Wawrinka vs. (Q) Lukas Rosol
Wawrinka and Rosol will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they do battle in round two of the inaugural Geneva Open on Wednesday. Their only previous encounter came in the 2013 Davis Cup first round on the indoor hard courts of Switzerland, where Wawrinka got the job done at home 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. They also faced each other in doubles during that tie and it resulted in the longest doubles match in the history of tennis. Rosol and Tomas Berdych outlasted Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli 24-22 in the fifth set after more than seven hours of play.
Rosol opened on Tuesday by getting past Yen-Hsun Lu 1-6, 7-6(1), 7-5. The 40th-ranked Czech is still just 8-14 on the season, including a modest 4-5 on clay. Wawrinka had been in a slump heading into last week’s Rome Masters, but he upset Rafael Nadal before succumbing to fellow Swiss Roger Federer in the semifinals. How motivated will Wawrinka be to perform well at home and delay his arrival at the French Open? We may find out sooner rather than later, but the top seed should at least be inspired enough to win his debut match.
Pick: Wawrinka in 2
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Thomaz Bellucci vs. Denis Istomin
Bellucci and Istomin will be squaring off for the third time in their careers and for the second time during this current clay-court swing. They just met in Istanbul, where Bellucci scored a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory to even the head-to-head series at 1-1. Istomin’s win came via a 7-6(6), 7-6(6) decision last year on the clay courts of Bucharest.
It has already been a relatively productive week for both men. Bellucci passed a tough first-round test against Marcos Baghdatis 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3. The 60th-ranked Brazilian is playing some of his best ball on his favorite surface, with a quarterfinal appearance in Istanbul, a second-round showing in Madrid, and a third-round finish in Rome (the latter two as a qualifier). Istomin, on the other hand, is just 6-11 for the year. The 66th-ranked Uzbek’s previous results against Bellucci on clay are encouraging, but he will hard-pressed to avenge his Istanbul loss when the court still consists of red dirt.
Pick: Bellucci in 2
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