World Tour Finals preview and prediction: Wawrinka vs. Cilic

Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic will be squaring off for the 13th time in their careers as round-robin competition in Group A continues at the World Tour Finals on Wednesday night.

Wawrinka is dominating the head-to-head series 10-2, including 5-2 on hard courts. Both of Cilic’s victories came in January of 2010 (in Chennai and at the Australian Open), and he has since lost six in a row to Wawrinka. They most recently faced each other earlier this season on the red clay of Geneva, where the Swiss treated the home crowd to a 6-4, 7-6(11) triumph in the title match. A previous collision at the O2 Arena in 2014 went Wawrinka’s way via a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 decision.

Roles are reversed, however, this time around. In 2014, Cilic was the reigning U.S. Open champion and he struggled both physically and mentally during the months in between New York City and London. Now it is Wawrinka who just recently triumphed at Flushing Meadows–and, not surprisingly, his tennis has responded the exact same way Cilic’s did. The world No. 3 is just 6-5 since leaving New York and 3-5 in his last eight matches. He turned in an uninspired performance in his opener at the O2 Arena on Monday afternoon and lost to Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-3.

Cilic, on the other hand, heated up after the U.S. Open and punched his ticket to the World Tour Finals by making a run to the semis at the Paris Masters. The seventh-ranked Croat also led his nation to the Davis Cup final, reached the Tokyo semifinals, and captured the Basel title. Cilic ran into the buzzsaw that is Andy Murray in his opening London match on Monday night and fell 6-3, 6-2.

“Overall I felt I was not playing too bad,” Cilic said after losing to Murray. “(I was) a little bit unfortunate to go 6-3, 6-2 down, where I felt it was much, much closer in the first set. (In the) beginning of the second I had couple chances, as well. Unfortunately, that’s the way it is…. But I’m quite positive with the way I was playing.”

Wawrinka cannot say the same thing for his showing against Nishikori. Based on current form and apparently motivation level, Cilic should have the edge in this one.

Pick: Cilic in 2

[polldaddy poll=9580155]