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In what could be one of the matches of the French Open, the man with the nicest backhand in tennis, Stan Wawrinka will take on one of the game’s great entertainers, Gael Monfils. Join The Roar for live scores from around 10:30pm (AEST).
Wawrinka is hitting superb form as we get to the second week of the French Open. After winning a tournament in Geneva during the final effort before the grand slam, and he is yet to drop a set in Paris.
Looking at the bigger picture, Monfils will be a huge step up on what Wawrinka has played so far, but he has dealt with every task presented with ease, going past Jozef Kovalik, Alexandr Dolgopolov and Fabio Fognini with ease.
His third round match started with a nervy tie-breaker, but he quickly put Fognini to the sword, taking the second and third sets to the tune of 6-2, 6-0.
With his backhand firing, he has barely dropped a point on his serve, and he has been able to pounce all over any second serves.
Monfils, on the other hand, known as one of the great entertainers in tennis battled with injury in the lead up to the French Open, and on his worst surface didn’t win a single match throughout the clay court season, losing to Hyeon Chung and Gilles Simon in his only two matches.
His form in Paris has been much more impressive though. The first two rounds saw him go past Dustin Brown and Thiago Monteiro with relative ease, not dropping a set or going to a tie-breaker.
Richard Gasquet presented a tougher challenge in the third round, and with the match delicately poised in the third, at one set all, Gasquet was forced to retire with injury.
The winner of this match will take on either Kevin Anderson or Marin Cilic in the semi-finals.
Previously, the pair have faced off five times, with Wawrinka winning three of the five including their only match at a grand slam. History may count for little though, given they have never played on clay and their last time against each other was in 2011.
Prediction
Wawrinka really appears to be hitting strong form, and now into the second week of the slam, it’s hard to see him bombing out in this one.
Wawrinka in four sets.
Join The Roar for live scores of this match from around 10:30pm (AEST) or at the completion of Andy Murray versus Karen Kachanov on the Phillipe-Chatrier Court and don’t forget to add your own comments throughout the course of the coverage.