Stanislas Wawrinka will kick off his Monte-Carlo campaign when he takes the court against an in-form Marin Cilic on Wednesday. Fabio Fognini and Roberto Bautista Agut are also looking for a spot in the third round.
(3) Stanislas Wawrinka vs. Marin Cilic
Wawrinka and Cilic will be facing each other for the eighth time in their careers and for the first time in more than three years when they collide in round two of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Monday. The head-to-head series stands at 5-2 in Wawrinka’s favor thanks to a 3-0 record for the Swiss on clay.
Both players are showing great form in 2014; Wawrinka is 16-3 and Cilic improved to 23-6 by defeating lucky loser Marinko Matosevic 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 on Tuesday. Wawrinka, the Australian Open champion, has cooled off just a bit with fourth-round exits in Indian Wells and Miami followed by a 1-1 record in Davis Cup action against Kazakhstan. Cilic has already been to three finals in 2014, with titles in Zagreb and Delray Beach. The Croat is mediocre on clay and his win over Matosevic was more difficult than expected. Meanwhile, Wawrinka’s triumph in Melbourne should not cloud the fact that he had previously achieved some of his best results on clay.
Pick: Wawrinka in 3
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Roberto Bautista Agut vs. (10) Fabio Fognini
Bautista Agut and Fognini will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers at the ATP main-draw level when they do battle on Wednesday. Fognini leads the head-to-head series 3-1 after recently scoring a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory in the Miami third round. They have met once on clay, with Fognini–completely on fire at the time–dominating a semifinal encounter 6-1, 6-3 last season in Stuttgart.
The Italian is continuing to play stellar tennis, with a 22-6 record in 2014 to his credit. He came back from the brink of defeat on Monday in Monte-Carlo to beat Joao Sousa 5-7, 7-5, 6-4. Bautista Agut opened with a 6-2, 6-2 rout of a slumping Vasek Pospisil. The 45th-ranked Spaniard is a solid 14-9 for the year. Fognini’s big effort–especially by his standards–against Sousa won’t help, but he at least has a day off in between. Although Bautista Agut is strong on clay, he just lost to Fognini on a hard court–which is a surface that would give him a better chance against the world No. 13.
Pick: Fognini in 3
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