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Match Details
Fixture: (8) Taylor Fritz vs (WC) Stan Wawrinka.
Tournament: Monte-Carlo Masters 2023.
Round: Second round (Round of 32).
Venue: Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Category: ATP Masters 1000.
Surface: Outdoor clay.
Prize money: €5,779,335.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Taylor Fritz vs Stan Wawrinka preview
After a first-round bye, World No. 10 Taylor Fritz will take on three-time Major champion Stan Wawrinka in the second round of the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters.
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Fritz led his home country to the United Cup title at the start of the year. He won four of his five singles ties, with Cameron Norrie handing him his sole defeat in the tournament.
The American was expected to perform well at the Australian Open after that, but suffered a shock defeat to Alexei Popyrin in the second round. He then made it to the semifinals of the Dallas Open and won his first title of the season at the Delray Beach Open.
Fritz's next tournament was the Mexican Open, where he reached the last four. He then recorded quarterfinal finishes at the Indian Wells Masters and the Miami Open. At last year's Monte-Carlo Masters, he lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in three sets in the quarterfinals.
Wawrinka, meanwhile, was up against World No. 35 Tallon Griekspoor in the first round in Monte-Carlo. Both players refused to cede any ground during their service games for most of the opening set. The Swiss was the first to blink, getting broken in the 11th game to trail 6-5 and then proceeded to lose the set.
Wawrinka then faced a break point during a couple of his service games early in the second set, but managed to fend them off. He then broke his opponent's serve in the sixth game to go 4-2 up. He held on to the lead and claimed the set to level the match.
Wawrinka jumped to a 3-1 lead in the third set, but Griekspoor fought back to make it 3-3. The 38-year-old then secured another break of serve to lead 4-3 and soon stepped up to serve for the match.
The Swiss faced some trouble while trying to close out the proceedings. He needed to save a couple of break points and wrapped up the match on his sixth match point to complete a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 comeback win.
Taylor Fritz vs Stan Wawrinka head-to-head
Wawrinka leads Fritz 2-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2018 Japan Open in straight sets.
Taylor Fritz vs Stan Wawrinka odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Taylor Fritz vs Stan Wawrinka prediction
Stan Wawrinka dug deep to score a tough three-set victory over Tallon Griekspoor in the first round. He was quite clutch on the big points, saving nine of the 11 break points he faced, while converting all three of his own break point chances.
Wawrinka served quite decently in the previous round, hitting nine aces while winning 66% of his first serve points. He'll need to up those numbers to stay in contention against Taylor Fritz.
The American ranks second on the tour when it comes to first serve points won this season, winning 80% of them. Fritz will need to avoid giving Wawrinka any opportunity to unleash the full force of his backhand.
The Swiss' movement remains a bit subpar, so if Fritz is able to move him around, he could be in trouble. The 25-year-old might need some time to get going since it's his first match on the red dirt this year, but should be able to prevail in the end.
Pick: Taylor Fritz to win in three sets.
