Stan Wawrinka
The Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka locks horns with the world No. 44 Brandon Nakashima in the round of 16 of the 2022 Basel Open on Thursday.
The 3-time Grand Slam champion came into the Basel Open on the back of two first-round exits in the previous two tournaments in Astana and Antwerp. He lost to the French veteran Richard Gasquet in three sets at the European Open.
Wawrinka’s biggest win this season came at the Moselle Open in Metz where he defeated Daniil Medvedev in the round of 16. The 37-year-old faced an uphill task in the first round of the Basel Open as he squared off against the world No. 3 Casper Ruud. The Swiss legend put on a solid show and defeated the Norwegian youngster in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. This win was better than the one against Medvedev as Wawrinka gave his opponent no chance of getting ahead of the game.
The American youngster will fondly remember 2022 because he won his first title this year. At the San Diego Open, Nakashima produced a stellar show to win the title having lost just one set throughout the tournament. The 21-year-old came into the tournament on the back of a loss in the quarterfinals against an in-form Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Firenze Open.
Nakashima faced the Belgian No. 1, David Goffin, in the first round of the Basel Open. The experienced campaigner took the first set but Nakashima managed to dig deep to get a hard-fought win. The match ended 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 in favor of Nakashima.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0 as the two players have not faced each other as yet.
Prediction: Stan Wawrinka to win in three sets.
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