Wawrinka advanced in the quarter finals after overcoming the scare put up by 89th-seed Andreas Seppi. He beat the Italian in three tough sets, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4). It’s his third tough win of the tournament.
Against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, he could once again have another challenging day. This will be their eighth matchup, with the head-to-head card being slightly in favor of Wawrinka, 4-3 (he has won the last three). Their most recent battle was at the 2015 French Open, where Tsonga bowed in four sets, 6-3, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (3), 6-4.
As ATP’s fourth-ranked player, “Stan the Man” or “Stanimal” (or whichever nickname you want to call him), will be boasting a 31-10 (75 percent wining percentage) career record at the Australian Open. He, as you may remember, reigned in the tourney in 2014, beating the favored Rafael Nadal, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, in the finals.
The 12th-ranked Tsonga edged out 51st-ranked Daniel Evans in the third round, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. Like his next opponent, it’s also his third time in the tournament earning a close, hard-fought win.
Although Tsonga is behind Wawrinka in their head-to-head record, while also being the loser in each of the previous three, he won their first and only match on a hard surface (Monday’s game will be on such environment), 6-7(6) 6-4 6-4, which was back in the 2007 Open de Moselle.
The French will be a good underdog in this particular matchup. Along with having identical records at the Australian Open (30-9) and all the Grand Slam tournaments combined (108-35), he also has a better career winning percentage (68.3 percent to 63.6 percent) and more titles on a hard surface (12 to 9).
Writer’s Prediction
Wawrinka (-155) advances after four entertaining sets.
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