Defending champion Stan Wawrinka moved into the third round of the 2016 French Open with a convincing straight-sets victory over Taro Daniel. The Swiss star will look to sustain the momentum of that huge win when he takes on Jeremy Chardy in an intriguing round-of-32 clash today.
Who will emerge victorious in this third-round showdown? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this mouth-watering matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the round-of-32 match between Kei Nishikori and Fernando Verdasco.
Stan Wawrinka stormed into the third round of the 2016 French Open with an emphatic 7-6 (7), 6-3, 6-4 win over Taro Daniel on Wednesday. It was an excellent performance by the defending champion who needed just two hours and seven minutes to oust the Japanese.
Playing in front of a partisan crowd on a sunny Court Suzanne Lenglen, Wawrinka displayed the aggressiveness that made him one of the most feared players in the men’s game. He outhit Daniel in the winners department, 62-21. In this tournament thus far, Wawrinka is averaging a whopping 59 winners per match.
Next up for Wawrinka is a round-of-32 clash with Jeremy Chardy. The 31-year-old will fancy his chances against the 30th-seeded Frenchman as he has won each of their four previous matches. Wawrinka won their most recent meeting in the quarterfinals of the ‘s-Hertogenbosch tournament back in 2013, beating Chardy in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (2).
For Wawrinka to extend his dominance against Chardy, he needs to bring his aggressive style and continue his strong net play in the third round. He won 16 of his 21 net points against Daniel in the previous round. Wawrinka has won 63 percent (33-of-52) of his total net points in the entire tournament thus far.
Jeremy Chardy booked a spot in the third round of the 2016 French Open with a resounding 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over Adam Pavlasek on Wednesday. It was a brilliant showing from Chardy who needed just one hour and 31 minutes to outlast the Czech star. With the victory, Chardy is through to the third round of the French Open for the fifth time in his career. He will face his toughest test, though, in the round of 32, as he will meet the red-hot Stan Wawrinka. The Swiss star is in the midst of a six-match winning streak on clay.
For Chardy to record a major shock in the third round, the Frenchman needs to dominate with his service game. Chardy’s serve was immense against Pavlasek as he converted 67 percent of his first serves. Chardy took full advantage of that fact, winning 40 of his 45 first serve points for an incredible 89 percent clip. Chardy also excelled with his second serve, with the Frenchman winning 16 of 22 points contested in that department.
