China Open 2024: Stan Wawrinka vs Jan-Lennard Struff preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (WC) Stan Wawrinka vs Jan-Lennard Struff
Date: September 26, 2024
Tournament: China Open 2024
Round: First Round (Round of 32)
Venue: National Tennis Center, Beijing, China
Category: ATP 500
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $3,720,165
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Stan Wawrinka vs Jan-Lennard Struff preview
Three-time Major champion Stan Wawrinka will face Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round of the China Open 2024.
Wawrinka's form has taken a turn for the worse this year, and he has notched up a 5-12 record so far. Second-round appearances at the French Open, the Paris Olympics, Wimbledon, and at another two ATP 250 events count among his best results this season.
Struff finally nabbed his maiden title on the ATP Tour in front of his home crowd in Munich at the BMW Open. He beat Taylor Fritz in the final to lay his hands on the winner's trophy after three previous runner-up finishes.
Struff also reached the third round of the French Open and Wimbledon, and the fourth round of the Madrid Open. He also advanced to the semifinals of the Swiss Open and to the quarterfinals in Halle and Stuttgart. He has tallied a 27-17 record for the season thus far.
Stan Wawrinka vs Jan-Lennard Struff head-to-head
Struff leads Wawrinka 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the Paris Masters 2016 in three competitive sets.
Stan Wawrinka vs Jan-Lennard Struff odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Stan Wawrinka vs Jan-Lennard Struff prediction
Wawrinka started the season ranked comfortably in the top 60, and has since fallen out of the top 200. He hasn't won a match on hardcourts either this year, going 0-3 on the surface, though two of those matches went to a deciding set.
Struff has tasted a modest level of success this year, though he has been far from impressive on hardcourts. He has a 6-10 record on the surface this season and has lost his last three matches on it as well.
Wawrinka and Struff's only prior encounter took place nearly eight years ago at the Paris Masters. The latter rallied from a set down to beat his older rival, who had won the US Open a few months before.
Wawrinka is nowhere close to the form that fetched him three Major titles. Struff has had his own share of troubles while playing on hardcourts. However, based on their results this year, anything but a win for the German would be quite a surprise.
Pick: Jan-Lennard Struff to win in three sets.