Mardy Fish vs Stanislas Wawrinka – Quarterfinal Preview: Rogers Cup 2011
Top ranked American, Mardy Fish continues his campaign at the 2011 Rogers Cup as he takes on the number two Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in their quarterfinal match at the Stade Uniprix in Montreal, Canada on Friday, 12th
August.
Starting the year ranked 17th in the world; Fish gradually made his way into the top-ten, replacing Andy Roddick as the top-ranked American. Opening the season Down Under, Fish suffered back-to-back second round exits
from Brisbane and Melbourne. It wasn’t until he came back to his continent that he finally started to climb the rankings ladder. With the exception of Indian Wells, Fish made multiple semi-final appearances, putting them in at Houston, Delray Beach and Miami.
The three semi-final appearances gave Fish enough ranking points for him to replace Andy Roddick as the top ranked American, becoming then world number ten. Following an abysmal clay season (6-5) and a fourth round showing at Wimbledon for grass, Fish returned
to the hard circuit in July as the top seeded player at Atlanta.
Defeating compatriots Ryan Harrison and John Isner in the semi-final and final match, Fish clinched his first and to-date only title of the season. The following week, the American put in another final appearance at Los Angeles,
though he lost to Ernests Gulbis. A minor setback in an otherwise near-perfect form, Fish came into his third appearance here.
An almost absent attendee at the event here, Fish is putting in his only third appearance. Debuting in 2003 and then once more in 2008, Fish has never made it past the first round here. Setting a career best with every progress
here, Fish moved into the quarterfinal after surviving a mid match lapse against Feliciano Lopez in the 2nd round and then bouncing back from a set down against Gulbis in the 3rd.
An evenly poised competition, Fish meets an almost mirror image of himself in the quarterfinals. Ranked 17th in the world, Wawrinka is more experienced here compared with Fish. Playing in his sixth year here, the Swiss
achieved his career best in 2009 and then in 2010 when he made it all the way to the fourth round before losing to Andy Murray and compatriot Roger Federer.
Having played three matches here, one more than Fish, the Swiss has perhaps more attuned himself to the hard courts of Montreal. With only one set loss enroute to the final, Wawrinka awarded straight sets defeats to David Nalbandian
and Michael Russell. A tad more competitive battle in the third round, the Swiss survived a mid match lapse as he did away with South African Kevin Anderson in three sets.
Now meeting Fish, the Swiss stands at a disadvantage. Trailing 0-1 in the career head-to-head, Wawrinka lost the only time the pair met which was on the hard courts of New Haven in 2007. Have the years made him wiser? Can Wawrinka
call upon the experience to upset Fish in the quarterfinals? Although Fish has clocked in more matches for the surface this season, Wawrinka boasts a superior record.
A title win at the season opener in Chennai followed by a quarterfinal showing at Melbourne and Indian Wells suggest that perhaps the Swiss has amassed the talent he needs to upset Fish on the latter’s favourite surface.
Prediction: Although the most evenly poised matchup of the quarterfinal, there are no draws in tennis. A tad more advantageous than the Swiss, Fish is enjoying a better form this month which may just carry him
past Wawrinka for a spot in the semis. Though a hard fought battle, Fish is expected to sail past the Swiss in three difficult sets.
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