Wawrinka, Monfils turning back the clock during summer hard-court swing

Stan Wawrinka and Gael Monfils are two of the remaining men in the last 16 at the Cincinnati Masters. Both veterans are in resurgent form heading into third-round action on Thursday.

ICON SMI/Panoramic

Ricky Dimon

August 17, 2023

It would have been hard for anyone to predict that Stan Wawrinka and Gael Monfils would be two of the stars of the summer hard-court swing in 2023, but that just might end up being the case.

Wawrinka on a roll

Wawrinka’s sample size remains small, but he is off to a great start at the Western & Southern Open with wins over Brandon Nakashima and Frances Tiafoe. Thus continues resurgent form for the 38-year-old, who finished runner-up on the red clay of Umag last month.

As good as he was at that recent ATP 250, Wawrinka was even better on Wednesday night in Cincinnati during a straight-set defeat of Tiafoe.

“It’s been probably the best match of the season — I think the most complete match,” the Swiss said. “I was feeling good, moving well, serving well, being aggressive, staying with him, fighting. I’m super happy and hopefully I can keep playing that well.”

Wawrinka will be favored in his third-round match against Max Purcell, who upset Casper Ruud in three sets on Wednesday afternoon.

Monfils builds on Toronto success

Monfils most definitely won’t be favored on Thursday, when he bids for a quarter-final spot. That’s because none other than Novak Djokovic will be on the other side of the net. Djokovic, who is playing his first hard-court tournament since Dubai in February, got a retirement from Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Wednesday night.

Regardless of the outcome against Djokovic, it has been an awesome two weeks for Monfils. The 36-year-old Frenchman made a run to the quarter-finals last week in Toronto and has now posted Cincinnati wins over Cameron Norrie and Toronto runner-up Alex de Minaur.

“I love the U.S. swing all the time,” Monfils said earlier this week. “(When I) stay here, (I have) felt good energies. It’s great. (I) really love the courts (and) the venues. It’s always special for me to come back playing in the states at that moment. So I’m quite happy.”