Stan Wawrinka – Fernando Verdasco
Revenge will be on the mind of Stan Wawrinka in his first round match against two-time US Open quarter-finalist Fernando Verdasco. The Swiss third seed has already suffered a loss to Verdasco this year at the Aegon Championships.
Both men have endured a roller coaster time on the tour since the Wimbledon championships. Wawrinka has only played two tournaments due to a back injury. He reached the semifinals in Toronto before being outplayed in the third round of the Connecticut Open by Grigor Dimitrov. In contrast, Verdasco has played five tournaments and reached the final in Bastad on the clay. More recently in this week’s Winston-Salem Open, he has produced encouraging wins over Taylor Fritz and Steve Johnson before losing in three sets to Viktor Troicki.
Despite trailing 2-3 in their head-to-head, Wawrinka does have the edge in the upcoming match due to his status on the tour. The biggest issue for the Swiss is what kind of form he is in. A lacklustre display, like the one he recently produced against Kei Nishikori, will not cut it against Verdasco and the prospect of an early exit of a strong reality.
This match has the potential to be a five-set thriller.
