Stan Wawrinka
It’s a battle of two veterans as 3-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka takes on Portugal’s Joao Sousa in the first round at Metz 2022.
The 37-year-old has not had a memorable 2022. He has been ousted in the first match in seven tournaments. However, there is no shortage of effort from the Swiss star. Wawrinka made it to the round of 16 at the Italian Open and the Queen’s Club Championships but other than these, his other results have been disappointing.
Wawrinka has progressed to the main draw after winning two qualifying matches. He began with a relatively easy win against Laslo Djere in the first qualifier. In the second qualifier, he defeated Zsombor Piros after dropping the first set.
The 33-year-old won the Maharashtra Open in February by defeating Emil Ruusuvuori in the final. This was his first title win in close to four years. After a string of disappointing performances, the Portuguese star managed to reach the final at the Geneva Open, where he lost to Casper Ruud.
Sousa is coming into the tournament on the back of a second-round exit at the US Open. He won his first match against Mackenzie McDonald before losing to Cameron Norrie in the second round.
Joao Sousa has some catching up to do as Stan Wawrinka leads the head-to-head 3-0. Their last meeting was at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships and the Swiss tennis pro got the win in straight sets.
Prediction: Stan Wawrinka to win in three sets.
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