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Stan Wawrinka will need to put some demons aside in his second round match at the French Open when he takes on the dangerous Alexandr Dolgopolov. Join The Roar for live scores from around 8:30pm (AEST).
Wawrinka might be a former champion of the Paris-based Grand Slam, but Dolgopolov has had his number through their previous encounters and it could be a shock early exit here.
While the pair have never played at a grand slam, Dolgopolov has beaten Wawrinka twice on the red stuff and if he can find a way to go with the world no.3 over five sets, a boilover might just be on the cards.
The main problem for the Ukrainian though will be his form. Despite clay being statistically his best surface by some margin, he has had a torrid time over the last month winning only a single match qualifying for Rome.
That followed a qualifying loss to Lukas Lacko in Madrid, before he was included as a lucky loser in Rome, only to be knocked over by Roberto Bautista Agut.
Still, he was favourite to knock over Carlos Berlocq in the first round and did so in straight sets, playing his best tennis in some time. Given he was on the comeback trail from injury, it could be a sign of improvement, but being underdone and hanging with one of the best players in the world over five sets is easier said than done.
Wawrinka, it’s fair to say was also struggling in the lead-up to the French Open, exiting early out of tournaments in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome before turning it around in the week before the grand slam, defeating Mischa Zverev in the final at Geneva.
It was a much better week for the third seed as he got his booming backhand going and fixed up other areas of his game, rediscovering the level of consistency he has often been known for.
The first round saw him come up against Josef Kovalik and probably as expected, he ran over the top in three pretty dominant sets to the tune of 6-2, 7-6, 6-3. There’s still plenty to work on for Wawrinka, but he has turned around his form and it indicates he should go into this match as favourite.
Prediction
Dolgopolov has never played against Wawrinka in a grand slam, so the record he holds is somewhat mitigated. He will take a set, but Wawrinka will move through.
Wawrinka in four sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of this second round French Open match from around 8:30pm (AEST) or at the completion of Barbora Strycova and Alize Cornet and don’t forget to add your own comments throughout the course of the coverage.