Paris R1 previews and predictions: Wawrinka vs. Evans, Sonego vs. Bublik

Familiar foes Stan Wawrinka and Dan Evans will meet again on Tuesday at the Paris Masters. The first round is also wrapping up with a showdown between Lorenzo Sonego and Alexander Bublik.

(12) Stan Wawrinka vs. Dan Evans

Wawrinka and Evans will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers and for the second time this fall when they clash in round one of the Rolex Paris Masters on Tuesday. All four of their previous encounters have gone the way of Wawrinka, who just prevailed 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-5 last month in St. Petersburg. Their most memorable meeting came in round three of the 2016 U.S. Open, where the Swiss survived 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(8), 6-2 after saving multiple match points and then went on two win the entire tournament.

Evans is in strong enough form to make this another extremely competitive contest. Since losing to Wawrinka in St. Petersburg, the 31st-ranked Brit has reached back-to-back semifinals in Antwerp and Vienna. Wawrinka lost in the St. Petersburg quarters to Denis Shapovalov and right away in Vienna to Cristian Garin, but the good news is that he is well-rested. The 35-year-old Swiss should have enough in the tank to win yet another entertaining affair against an opponent he has owned.

Pick: Wawrinka in 3

Lorenzo Sonego vs. Alexander Bublik

Sonego is getting right back in action following the biggest week of his career, in which he made a run to the final of the 500-point tournament in Vienna as a lucky loser. The 32nd-ranked Italian shocked Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals before finally falling at the last hurdle to a ridiculously hot Andrey Rublev.

Up first for Sonego at the Paris Masters is Bublik, and it will be a rematch of a recent French Open first-round affair. That one could not have gone worse for the 49th-ranked Kazakh, who went down 7-6(8), 6-1, 7-5. He has since compiled a 1-2 record on hard courts, losing each of his last two matches by 6-3, 6-2 scorelines (to Milos Raonic and Mackenzie McDonald). Sonego has every reason to maintain his fine form at the expense of a struggling opponent.

Pick: Sonego in 2