RICKY’S TENNIS PICKS FOR THE ST. PETERSBURG & METZ FINALS: WAWRINKA VS. ZVEREV & THEIM VS. POUILLE

Written by: Staff on 24th September 2016

St. Petersburg Open ATP tennis tournament

RICKY'S TENNIS PICKS FOR THE ST. PETERSBURG & METZ FINALS: WAWRINKA VS. ZVEREV & THEIM VS. POUILLE

epa05554462 Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland in action against Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain during their semi-final match at the St. Petersburg Open ATP tennis tournament in St.Petersburg, Russia, 24 September 2016. EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV |

By Ricky Dimon

Fresh off a triumph at the U.S. Open, Stan Wawrinka will be hoping to snag more hardware when he takes the court against Alexander Zverev on Sunday afternoon in St. Petersburg. This week’s other 250-point final in Metz will see Dominic Thiem take on Lucas Pouille. Ricky previews the action and makes his predictions.

(1) Stan Wawrinka vs. (5) Alexander Zverev

Alexander Zverev of Germany in action against Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic during their semi-final match for the St. Petersburg Open ATP tennis tournament in St.Petersburg, Russia, 24 September 2016. EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV

Wawrinka and Zverev will be squaring off for the first time in their careers when they battle for the St. Petersburg Open title. They appeared to be in line for a third-round tilt at the U.S. Open, but Zverev ended up falling to Dan Evans. That set the stage for a surprising thriller, in which Wawrinka saved a match point and eventually survived Evans in five sets. The rest, of course, is history; the Swiss secured his third career Grand Slam title. Following a little more than a week’s rest, Wawrinka got right back in action at this 250-point event with straight-set wins over Lukas Rosol, Viktor Troicki, and Roberto Bautista Agut.

Zverev is rounding back into form following early exits in Toronto, Cincinnati, and New York. The 27th-ranked German has improved to 37-21 for the year by beating Karen Khachanov, Daniil Medvedev, Mikhail Youzhny, and Tomas Berdych all in straight sets. This marks Zverev’s third final of 2016 (previously played for titles in Nice and Halle), but he is still searching for first ATP winner’s trophy.

Pick: Wawrinka in 3

(1) Dominic Thiem vs. (3) Lucas Pouille

While Wawrinka went into St. Petersburg as a question mark because of a possible lack in motivation, Thiem’s status for the Moselle Open was unclear due to his physical state. After playing far too many matches from January through May, the 23-year-old Austrian struggled through the American hard-court summer and eventually retired from a fourth-round contest in Flushing Meadows against Juan Martin Del Potro. Thanks to some much-needed rest, however, Thiem looks 100 percent in Metz and has ousted Nikoloz Basilashvili, Gilles Muller, and Gilles Simon.

Dominic Thiem of Austria hits a return to Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina on the eighth day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 05 September 2016. The US Open runs through September 11. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO

Up next for the No. 1 seed is a first-ever clash with Pouille, who won their only previous meeting 6-4, 6-4 last season on the red clay of Monte-Carlo. It cannot get any better for the 22-year-old Frenchman than his five-set U.S. Open stunner over Rafael Nadal en route to the quarters, but a first career ATP title would certainly be nice. This is Pouille’s second final (fell to Fernando Verdasco earlier in 2016 in Bucharest), and he booked his spot in it by beating Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Julien Benneteau, and David Goffin.

Pick: Thiem in 3