Rome R3 previews and picks: Wawrinka vs. Thiem, Berdych vs. Fognini

Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem will battle for a spot in the Rome quarterfinals on Thursday. Tomas Berdych and Fabio Fognini are also in third-round action.

(8) Stan Wawrinka vs. Dominic Thiem

Wawrinka and Thiem will be facing each other for the third time in their careers when they collide in the third round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Thursday. The head-to-head series is tied at 1-1 after a pair of 2014 encounters. Thiem pulled off a 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 upset on the clay courts of Madrid before Wawrinka exacted revenge in the form of a 6-4, 7-6(6) victory on the indoor hard courts of Paris.

Just about any win for Wawrinka right now is a good one, and his Rome opener was no exception. The ninth-ranked Swiss, who is enduring struggles both on and off the court, recovered from a set and a break down to beat Juan Monaco 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Tuesday. Thiem kicked off his week with a 7-6(4), 7-6(5) victory over Simone Bolelli before getting a retirement from Gilles Simon on Wednesday (Simon trailed 7-6(5), 2-0 when he called it). The 49th-ranked Austrian is looking for his second Masters 1000 quartefinal of the season, having previously reached that stage in Miami. A streaky performer, Thiem is riding a wave of momentum and has to be playing with more confidence than Wawrinka.

Pick: Thiem in 3

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(6) Tomas Berdych vs. Fabio Fognini

Berdych and Fognini will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers on Thursday. Fognini leads the head-to-head series 2-1, including 2-0 on clay. The Italian prevailed 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 six years ago in Monte-Carlo and 6-4, 6-2 at the same event in 2013. Berdych’s lone victory came via a 7-5, 6-0, 6-0 destruction at the 2011 U.S. Open.

It has already been an outstanding week by Fognini’s normal Rome standards. The world No. 31, who had previously been 3-7 lifetime at this tournament and had never reached the third round, defeated Steve Johnson 7-6(0), 6-3 before holding off Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(9). 4-6, 6-0. Berdych generally has no problem facing opponents on their home turf and the Czech disposed of Italian wild card Matteo Donati 6-2, 6-4 during second-round action on Tuesday. The sixth seed is 31-8 for his 2015 campaign. Success at this event for Fognini is likely an aberration as opposed to the rule, so this should be where the run ends–especially with Berdych in fine form.

Pick: Berdych in 2

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