Stan Wawrinka playing a forehand shot during one of his encounters last year. (Getty Images)
Stan Wawrinka is set to face Serbia’s Laslo Dere in the Round of 32 of the Italian Open ATP 1000 tournament
Swiss tennis legend, Stan Wawrinka has begun the Italian Open 2022 supremely. The three-time Grand Slam champion does not feature regularly on the ATP tour these days but as they say – class is permanent. Wawrinka defeated 16th seed Reilly Opelka in his first-round match in a thrilling three-setter 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. The 37-year-old came back from a setdown to script a memorable win against his much younger seeded opponents.
Laslo Dere has been impressive so far in Rome. The Serbian had to win two rounds of qualifiers to earn himself a spot in the main draw of the Masters 1000 event. Dere won both his qualifying round matches comfortably in straight sets. In his first-round match of the main draw, Dere faced Croatia’s Borna Coric. The 26-year-old Serbian displayed good composure and calmness and pulled off a well-deserved 6-2, 6-7, 6-2 victory to set up a clash against Stan Wawrinka.
| Date | Wednesday, 11th May |
| Surface | Clay |
| Watch | Voot app |
| Start time | To be Announced |
| Venue | Foro Italico |
| Match details | Round of 32 match |
Wawrinka and Dere haven’t faced each other on the ATP tour before. On one hand, we have the highly decorated veteran, Wawrinka while on the other we have an emerging star in World No. 57, Laslo Dere. Wawrinka has the advantage of experience in abundance but hasn’t been in action regularly on the circuit. Dere is a regular on the ATP tour and paper, the higher-ranked player compared to Wawrinka’s ranking of 232.
It is certainly a tough match to call and whoever plays better on the day will emerge as the winner. We are predicting a win in three sets for Laslo Dere.
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