INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 13: Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan plays Andy Murray of Great Britain during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 13, 2022 in Indian Wells, California. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka takes on the world No. 44 Alexander Bublik in the semi-finals in Metz 2022 on Saturday.
The 37-year-old played qualifiers at an ATP tournament for the first time since 2005. Prior to this tournament, Wawrinka’s last win came on June 14 against Frances Tiafoe.
The 3-time Grand Slam champion won his two qualifying matches against Laslo Djere and Zsombor Piros. In the first round of the main draw, Wawrinka defeated Portuguese star Joao Sousa in straight sets to set up a clash with former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev. With the crowd behind him, the experienced campaigner pulled off a huge upset as he defeated the Russian 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 6-3. In the quarter-finals, Wawrinka used all his experience to defeat a persistent Mikael Ymer in three sets 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5).
The Russian-born Kazakhstani player has reached the semi-finals for the third time this year. He has won both his previous semi-final matches against Filip Krajinovic and Jason Kubler in the Open Sud de France and the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships respectively.
The 25-year-old came back from a set down to win his first match of the campaign against Evan Furness. In the second match, he once again lost the first set before defeating Emil Ruusuvuori 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-3. World No. 31 Holger Rune faced Bublik in the quarter-finals. Like Bublik’s last two matches, this match was also decided in the third set. However, this time, Bublik did not lose the first set. He won the match 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to edge past the Danish youngster.
Alexander Bublik has a 1-0 lead in the head-to-head scoreline. The two players faced each other at the Monte-Carlo Masters in April and Bublik won the match 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Prediction: Stan Wawrinka to win in three sets.
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