Stan Wawrinka and Karen Khachanov clash in a Rotterdam first-round showdown on Monday. Andrey Rublev takes on American qualifier Marcos Giron, with the winner to meet Andy Murray.
(8) Stan Wawrinka vs. Karen Khachanov
Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka just barely scored a seed in Rotterdam. His first-round opponent, Karen Khachanov, just missed one. Thus it will be world No. 20 vs. world No. 21 for a spot in the second round. It’s bad luck for both men but good news for tennis fans, who will be treated to an opening match that would have made a perfectly respectable quarterfinal.
Wawrinka holds a slight 2-1 record over Khachanov. The two men last met back in 2019 at the Rogers Cup, with the Russian just edging the win in three. Wawrinka, who had a rocky start to the 2021 season, suffered a miserable second-round loss at the hands of Marton Fucsovics at the Australian Open. Khachanov did slightly better in his 2021 debut, but only just. He ran into an inspired Matteo Berrettini in the third round in Melbourne.
This could be a close one. Neither player has shown his best stuff yet this year and while Khachanov has a better record on the season (5-2 to Wawrinka’s 3-1), he was all over the place at the end of 2020. Wawrinka is generally more consistent and he’s plenty capable of blasting away on an indoor court.
Cheryl pick: Wawrinka in 3
Ricky pick: Wawrinka in 3
(Q) Marcos Giron vs. (4) Andrey Rublev
American qualifier Marcos Giron isn’t going to have an easy start of things in Rotterdam. The world No. 80 has drawn one of the hottest players on the tour in Andrey Rublev. The Russian is coming off a red hot 2020, in which he won a tour-high five titles. He is showing no signs of slowing down this year, either.
The world No. 8 cut his way through the draw in Melbourne to reach the quarterfinals, where he went down to countryman and familiar foe Daniil Medvedev. The Medvedev loss was Rublev’s only one of the season, as he also started off 2021 by leading Russia to the ATP Cup crown.
Giron will need to be happy with the handful of points he earned qualifying for Rotterdam. The underdog, who has a couple of tour match wins in 2021, is poised for a good season…it just won’t come at Rublev’s expense.
Cheryl pick: Rublev in 2
Ricky pick: Rublev in 2
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