Andy Murray returns to Cincinnati to face his old rival, Stan Wawrinka in the opening round of the Western & Southern Open this Monday, the 15th of August.
A meeting of three-time Slam champs in the @CincyTennis first round!
Andy Murray gets a late entry into the main draw and will face Stan Wawrinka for the 22nd time…#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/X5rKHPB9Ng
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 13, 2022
Murray has had a decent year in 2022 considering the severity of his injuries from the previous years. The 3-time grand slam champion broke into the top 50 of the ATP rankings for the first time in around four years. However, the Brit is yet to win a single match in the 2022 US open series after suffering first-round exits in both Citi Open and Canadian Open against Mikael Ymer and Taylor Fritz. He qualified for the 2022 Cincinnati Masters draw as a special exempt thanks to multiple withdrawals.
Stan Wawrinka, who is out of the top 300 in the ATP rankings, is going through a tough time similar to his fellow grand slam champion. The Swiss missed the entirety of the first part of the hardcourt season because of foot surgery. He later came back in the clay season but barely had any success. His last tournament, Canadian Open, ended in a disaster as he lost to Emil Ruusuvuori in the first round.
The rivalry between Murray and Wawrinka is not new as the pair have already played each other 21 times. Andy Murray currently leads their h2h by 12-9. Their last faceoff took place in the 2020 French Open when the “Stanimal” humiliated the Brit on the court, defeating him in straight sets (6-1, 6-3, 6-2).
The tennis world waits with excitement as two legends of the game face each other once again on a big stage.
