Swiss veteran Stanislas Wawrinka will take on Grigor Dimitrov in the second round of the Italian Open

Stan Wawrinka is in the twilight of his career and hasn’t been in the best of form so far this year. He has come into this tournament following a second-round exit at the Madrid Open. He is nowhere near his best but did show glimpses of his class last month at the Indian Wells Masters when he defeated seventh seed Holger Rune 6-2, 6-7, 7-5.

Wawrinka registered a dominating 6-2, 6-4 victory against Ilya Ivashka in the first round of this tournament. His best performance so far this year came at the Rotterdam Open, where he reached the Quarter-finals with wins over Alexander Bublik and Richard Gasquet in the process. The Swiss veteran followed it up with another impressive quarter-final finish at the Open 13. Unfortunately though, he hasn’t been able to replicate his good form in the last few tournaments and he will look to capitalise on his good start in Italy.

Grigor Dimitrov’s form coming into the match at Italian Open

Dimitrov hasn’t been in the best form in his previous few tournaments but the Bulgarian is experienced enough to know how to turn things around. He started 2023 on a good note but there has been a lack in consistency as the season has progressed.

His best performance so far this year came at the ATP Rotterdam, where he reached the semi-finals before eventually losing to Daniil Medvedev. The Bulgarian received a Bye in the first round and is now set to play his first match at the Italian Open. Dimitrov would look to replicate his early-season form and put up a good display in Italy.

Details:

Date – Friday, 12th May

Court Type – Clay outdoor surface

Telecast – Tennis Channel

Start Time – To be Announced

Location – Foro Italico

Match details – Round of 64 match

Head-to-head and Predictions

Wawrinka and Dimitrov have played each other twelve times before on the ATP Tour. They know each other’s game very well with all the encounters being closely fought but it’s Wawrinka who has the slight upper hand and leads 7-5 on head to head. It’s a difficult match to call as both players have similar playing styles and enough experience of playing at big events. We are predicting an intense encounter with Dimitrov eventually coming out on top in three sets.

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