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Citi Open: Previewing Donald Young vs Stan Wawrinka

By Keshav Gopalan

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02: Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland celebrates match point against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during their Men's Singles first round match on day one of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 2, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02: Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland celebrates match point against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during their Men's Singles first round match on day one of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 2, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /
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Two players face each other again but under different circumstances. Both Donald Young and Stan Wawrinka have tumbled down the rankings, with Wawrinka barely within the top 200 and Young almost inside it.

Interestingly enough, Young has a victory over Wawrinka in the 2011 US Open, before Wawrinka’s break out. If bold enough, one could claim that this is a shadow of the Wawrinka we’ve come to know. Hence, is this Young’s best chance at redemption for the 2015 US Open?

Different circumstances

Wawrinka and Young met at a big stage when both were playing some great tennis. Young reached the second week of a slam and Wawrinka’s victory over Young led the path to his semi-final run. They now meet under different circumstances, with Wawrinka’s rank drop because of injury and lack of match practice, while Young has also dropped down the rankings, albeit slowly.

The exposure to the tennis world also remains contrasting, with Wawrinka playing and winning matches against some of the best in the sport not less than 3 weeks ago, while Young has had to play a combination of challenger level events, slam qualifying and smaller ATP tournaments, usually in the US itself, relying on wildcards for some of them.

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Match practice?

A crucial piece in Wawrinka’s incomplete puzzle is that he lacks match practice, something Donald Young can boast about. However, with Young’s current form, it seems unlikely that his plethora of matches played will make a dent. Wawrinka won against a top 5 player on his least favourite surface.  Young’s game is prone to weaknesses, especially when Young’s not in the best mental shape.

Next. David Ferrer talks about past, future and retirement. dark

Expect a straightforward victory for Wawrinka as he embarks on a comeback route, again.

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