“It’s been a really tough year so far, but I’m not getting younger so I’m trying to keep pushing myself,” – said Stan Wawrinka, who has had just five ATP wins this year before featuring in Shanghai. However, he started his campaign with a win at the Shanghai Masters, and the ‘Stanimal’ looks hungry! He’s ready to pounce on his ‘prey’! Next up for him is the young Italian, Flavio Cobolli, in the second round (R64) of the 2024 Shanghai Masters. Can he carry forward his winning moment in Shanghai?

Stan Wawrinka vs Flavio Cobolli: Preview

Stan Wawrinka’s longest run in this season has been reaching the R16. The three-time Grand Slam champion has struggled to find his rhythm and consistency this season. However, in the R128 match in Shanghai, his performance was quite impressive. He defeated Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard by 7-6(2),7-6(6).

On the other hand, Flavio Cobolli has made quite a few long runs this season. However, his best performances in the 2024 season came at the Geneva Open, where he reached the SF and the Citi Open, where he reached the final. Cobolli is entering this tournament after facing defeat at the hands of Daniil Medvedev in the QF of the China Open by 2-6,4-6. Can the 22-year-old Italian pull things back on track in the next match?

Wawrinka vs Cobolli: Head-to-Head

Stan Wawrinka has never played against Flavio Cobolli in his career, as of now. Hence, the H2H is tied at 0-0.

Prediction: Cobolli to win in straight sets

Looking at their current form and their performances in the last few matches, the Italian looks to be the favorite in the match. Having said that, we all know the capabilities of ‘Stan the Man’, isn’t it? Stan Wawrinka is currently ranked 236th in the world and has a win-loss record of just 5-13. On the other hand, Flavio Cobolli (30) has a win-loss record of 33-26 this season.

If we take a look at their playing styles, Stan Wawrinka possesses one of the strongest one-handed backhands on the Tour. He’s more of an offensive baseline player who’s well-capable of playing on most surfaces. Wawrinka also has fiery serves in his armory. Talking about serves, do you know how many aces he hit in his previous match? Stan Wawrinka fired 13 aces against Perricard in the previous match and committed just 4 double faults. Moreover, he won 90% of his first serve and 70% of his second serve in that match. Quite extraordinary numbers from the 39-year-old tennis star!

We expect him to fire a few more aces against Cobolli as well, but what will the youngster come up with in his match against the experienced campaigner? Well, Flavio Cobolli is known for his incredible defensive skills and counter-attacking style of play. He has a strong forehand, and he’s also a good returner of the ball. However, Cobolli has struggled a bit with his serves in the past. This year, he has managed to pull things up a bit by hitting 347 aces and committing 201 double faults. We can still see the double fault count is still pretty high! However, we expect his form in the last few months will probably give him an edge against Stan Wawrinka in this match.