Djokovic, Wawrinka, Nadal Play In Monte Carlo On Wednesday

DAY 4 PREVIEW: The second round concludes on Wednesday as the remaining 11 singles matches take place on Day 4 of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. Three former champions lead the schedule: top seed, two-time and defending champion Novak Djokovic, 2014 champ and No. 4 seed Stan Wawrinka, and eight-time champion and No. 5 seed Rafael Nadal. Both Djokovic and Wawrinka are playing their first clay-court singles matches of the season. Seeded players went a combined 13-0 on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Wawrinka, who beat Roger Federer for the 2014 title, is one of four men to have disrupted the Big Four’s dominance of the ATP Masters 1000 titles since Monte-Carlo 2010. Fifty of the last 54 ATP Masters 1000 titles have been won by Djokovic (23), Nadal (12), Federer (8) and Murray (7). The reigning Roland Garros champion joined Robin Soderling (Paris-Bercy 2010), David Ferrer (Paris-Bercy 2012) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Toronto 2014) by claiming his first ATP Masters 1000 title here two years ago. Wawrinka faces Philipp Kohlschreiber in the day’s opening match on Court Rainier III and comes into the match with a 3-0 head-to-head record, including a quarter-final win against the German en route to his second title of the season in Dubai (d. Baghdatis; also Chennai, d. Coric).

Nadal, who faces Great Britain’s Aljaz Bedene in the second match on Court Rainier III, is entering what is traditionally the most productive month of his career: He has won 15 of his 67 career titles in April, followed by May (12), June (11) and July (7). The Spaniard has a 53-4 career record in Monte-Carlo with a tournament-record eight straight titles from 2005 to 2012. His 46-match winning streak ended with a runner-up finish in 2013 (l. to Djokovic). Nadal comes in with a 12-6 match record on the season (4-2 on clay). He was a semi-finalist in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. This is the fifth time since 2005 that Nadal enters Monte-Carlo without a title on the season. Four times he captured his first title of the year in Monte-Carlo: 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Bedene has advanced beyond the second round of an ATP Masters 1000 event once before (2014 Miami 3R, l. to Becker), and is seeking his first win against a Top 10 player (0-6 career).

Djokovic, champion in 2013 (d. Nadal) and 2015 (d. Berdych), is chasing his fifth consecutive ATP Masters 1000 title going back to Shanghai last season. This is the third time Djokovic has won four successive ATP Masters 1000 events (2013 Shanghai, Paris, 2014 Indian Wells, Miami and 2014 Paris, 2015 Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo). The Serb is playing here for the 10th time in 11 years (missed 2011) and he has reached the semi-finals or better in his past seven appearances. The 28-year-old is off to a 28-1 start this season, winning his 11th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and capturing the first two ATP Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Miami for the third straight year. Since the beginning of last year, Djokovic has compiled a 110-7 match record, winning 15 titles in 19 finals (21 tournaments played). His second-round opponent, Czech left-hander Jiri Vesely, reached the Marrakech semi-finals last week (l. to Coric), but is 0-8 in his career against Top 10 opposition.

DAY 4 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play by Court

Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) vs [4] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) Wawrinka Leads 3-0
08 Roland Garros (France) Clay R128 Stan Wawrinka 6-3 6-4 6-3
08 ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (Spain) Hard R32 Stan Wawrinka 3-6 7-5 7-6(5)
16 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard QF Stan Wawrinka 7-5 6-1

Kohlschreiber 2016 FastFacts:
SF: Rotterdam (l Monfils); QF (2): Sofia (l Troicki), Dubai (l Wawrinka)
YTD W-L: 12-6 (1-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 6
Date of Birth: October 16, 1983
Emirates ATP Ranking: 28
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 16-9 (QF – 2007, ’10)

• The 32-year-old German is making his 10th tournament appearance (16-9 record). Reached QF twice, on debut as qualifier in 2007 (l. to champion Nadal) and 2010 (2R d. No. 4 Murray, l. to Ferrer)
• Opened Tuesday with a 64 64 win over Coric in 1R
• Beat Rosol and Berdych in Davis Cup 1R, but lost doubles w/Petzschner to Berdych/Stepanek (CZE d. GER 3-2)
• Win over No. 7 Berdych snapped 18-match losing streak against Top 10 opponents (22-75 overall)
• Advanced to Rotterdam SF (d. Cilic, l. to Monfils) and QFs at Sofia (l. to Troicki) and Dubai (l. to No. 4 Wawrinka)
• Fell to No. 7 Nishikori in Australian Open 1R and No. 1 Djokovic in both ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 3R

Wawrinka 2016 FastFacts
W (2): Chennai (d. Coric); Dubai (d. Baghdatis); QF: Marseille (l. to Paire)
YTD W-L: 15-4 (0-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 13
Date of Birth: March 28, 1985
Emirates ATP Ranking: 4
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 17-7 (2014 Champion)

• The 31-year-old Swiss is making his ninth tournament appearance and won his first ATP Masters 1000 title here in 2014 (d. No. 4 Federer). Reached 3R last year (l. to Dimitrov)
• On a 9-match win streak in finals after beating Baghdatis to win ATP World Tour 500 event in Dubai
• Captured 3rd straight Chennai title (d. Coric), increasing win streaks at event to 12 matches and 24 sets
• Enjoyed 400th career win in Australian Open 3R (d. Rosol) before falling in 4R (l. to Raonic in 5 sets)
• Advanced to 2nd week of Australian Open for 4th straight season
• Appeared in 44 consecutive Grand Slam main draws since making major debut at 2005 Roland Garros
• Saved 2 MPs to beat Stakhovsky 64 46 76(8) in Marseille 2R and came within 2 points of losing to Stakhovsky in Dubai 1R before earning 57 63 75 win
• Reached 4R at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to Goffin), then lost opening match at ATP Masters 1000 Miami (2R l. to Kuznetsov)

[5] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs Aljaz Bedene (GBR) First Meeting

Nadal 2016 FastFacts
F: Doha (l. to Djokovic); SF (3): Buenos Aires (l. to Thiem); Rio de Janeiro (l. to Cuevas); ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to Djokovic)
YTD W-L: 12-6 (4-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 67
Date of Birth: June 3, 1986
Emirates ATP Ranking: 5
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 53-4 (2005-12 Champion)

• The 29-year-old Spaniard is making his 13th appearance at the Monte-Carlo Country Club, where he has won a tournament-record eight titles (2005 d. Coria, 2006-08 d. Federer, 2009 d. Djokovic, 2010 d. Verdasco, 2011 d. Ferrer, 2012 d. Djokovic)
• Won 46 consecutive matches in Monte-Carlo before defeat in 2013 F (l. to Djokovic). Reached QF in 2014 (l. to No. 6 Ferrer) and SF last year (l. to No. 1/champion Djokovic)
• Reached 99th career final to start season in Doha (l. to No. 1 Djokovic)
• Lost to eventual champions in three consecutive SFs at Buenos Aires (l. to Thiem after holding 1 MP), Rio de Janeiro (l. to Cuevas) and ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to No. 1 Djokovic)
• Retired 1R at ATP Masters 1000 Miami with dizziness while trailing Dzumhur 26 64 30, first retirement since 2010 Australian Open QF vs Murray, a stretch of 442 matches (370-72)
• Suffered 2nd Grand Slam 1R loss of career at Australian Open vs. Verdasco in 4h41m, 5-set marathon

Bedene 2016 FastFacts:
SF: Chennai (l Coric)
YTD W-L: 6-7 (1-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: July 18, 1989
Emirates ATP Ranking: 60
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 1-0 (2R – 2016)

• The 26-year-old Briton made his tournament debut with a 62 63 win over Rosol in 1R
• Owns an 0-6 record against Top 10 opponents (0-0 in 2016)
• Owns a 4-6 record against left-handers (0-0 in 2016)
• Reached QF-or-better for 4th straight year at Chennai, falling in SF (l. to Coric)
• Owns 12-4 career record at Chennai and 33-53 record everywhere else
• Held 5 MPs vs. Querrey in Auckland 1R before retiring in 3rd set due to leg injury

[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Jiri Vesely (CZE) First Meeting

Djokovic 2016 FastFacts
W (4): Doha (d. Nadal); Australian Open (d. Murray); ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (d. Raonic); ATP Masters 1000 Miami (d. Nishikori); QF: Dubai (l. to Lopez)
YTD W-L: 28-1 (0-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 4 / Career Titles: 63
Date of Birth: May 22, 1987
Emirates ATP Ranking: 1 (Career-High)
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 28-7 (2013, 2015 Champion)

• The 28-year-old Serbian is making his 10th appearance at the Monte-Carlo Country Club (28-7 record) and returns as defending champion; claimed titles in 2013 (d. No. 5 Nadal) and 2015 (d. No. 8 Berdych) and reached finals in 2010 and 2012 (l. both to Nadal)
• 2013 title win ended Nadal’s record 46-match winning streak at ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo
• Tied Emerson’s all-time record with 6th Australian Open title (d. No. 2 Murray)
• Moved into tie with Laver and Borg for 5th all-time with 11 Grand Slam men’s singles titles
• Won a 5-set match en route to title for 7th time at a major, overcoming 100 unforced errors in 4R (d. Simon)
• Captured 60th career title to start season at Doha, not dropping a set all week (d. No. 5 Nadal)
• Became 3rd active player to reach 700 wins by beating Jaziri in Dubai 2R on Feb. 24 (also Federer, Nadal)
• Became all-time ATP Masters 1000 title leader in March (28 titles) with victories at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (d. Raonic) and ATP Masters 1000 Miami (d. No. 6 Nishikori), overtaking Nadal (27 titles)
• Fell 1 shy of Lendl’s Open-Era record 18 straight finals when eye problem forced ret in Dubai QF (l. to Lopez)
• Had not retired since 2011 Davis Cup SF vs. del Potro, a stretch of 350 matches (318-32)
• Owns a 4-1 record against left-handers in 2016 (82-31 overall)
• Beat Nedovyesov in 3 sets, Kukushkin in 5 sets to help Serbia past Kazakhstan 3-2 in Davis Cup 1R

Vesely 2016 FastFacts:
SF: Marrakech (l Coric)
YTD W-L: 5-8 (4-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: July 10, 1993
Emirates ATP Ranking: 55
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 1-1 (2R – 2016)

• The 22-year-old Czech is making his second main draw appearance after 1R exit in 2015 (l. to Monaco). Opened Tuesday with 36 75 75 win over Gabashvili in 1R
• Owns an 0-8 record against Top 10 opponents (0-0 in 2016)
• Posted only 1 singles win in 1st 3 months of season, beating countryman Rosol in Rotterdam 1R before SF run at Marrakech in April (l. to Coric)
• As defending champion, lost to eventual champion Bautista Agut in Auckland 1R
• Fell to 0-3 lifetime at Australian Open with 5-set loss to Olivo in 1R

Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) vs [13] Gael Monfils (FRA) Monfils Leads 1-0
15 Vienna (Austria) Hard R16 Gael Monfils 6-4 6-4

Lorenzi 2016 FastFacts:
SF: Quito (l Bellucci); QF: Buenos Aires (l Nadal)
YTD W-L: 9-7 (9-5 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: December 15, 1981
Emirates ATP Ranking: 53
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 1-0 (2R – 2016)

• The 34-year-old Italian made his main draw debut with a 26 60 61 win over countryman Fognini; fell in Q1 on only other appearance in 2007
• Saved 3 MPs to beat Chiudinelli in Davis Cup 1R opening rubber after 4h, 43m (ITA d. SUI 5-0). Won longest tiebreak in history of Davis Cup World Group, taking 1st set against Chiudinelli 76(14)
• Advanced to 2nd ATP World Tour singles SF of career at Quito (d. Tomic, l. to Bellucci). Followed with QF run at Buenos Aires (d. Schwartzman, l. to No. 5 Nadal)
• Reached 3rd ATP doubles final at Buenos Aires w/Cervantes (l. to Cabal/Farah)
• Captured 17th ATP Challenger Tour singles title at Canberra, AUS (d. Dodig) and reached 31st final at Bucaramanga, COL (l. to G. Melzer)

Monfils 2016 FastFacts:
F: Rotterdam (l Klizan); QF (3): Australian Open (l Raonic), ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Raonic), ATP Masters 1000 Miami (l Nishikori)
YTD W-L: 16-5 (2-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: September 1, 1986
Emirates ATP Ranking: 16
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 9-9 (SF-2015)

• The 29-year-old Paris native is making his 10th appearance in Monte Carlo a year after posting his career-best run to SF (l. to Berdych)
• Opened with 75 60 win over Muller in 1R
• Advanced to 1st Australian Open QF in 11th appearance (l. to Raonic)
• Reached back-to-back QFs at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to Raonic) and ATP Masters 1000 Miami (l. to Nishikori)
• Fell to 5-18 in ATP World Tour finals with loss to Klizan in Rotterdam championship match
• Won 8th straight Davis Cup match to open France’s 5-0 sweep of Canada in 1R (d. Dancevic)
• Withdrew from Marseille due to right leg injury

COURT DES PRINCES

[6] Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs [Q] Damir Dzumhur (BIH) Berdych Leads 2-0
14 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R32 Tomas Berdych 6-4 6-2 6-2
16 Doha (Qatar) Hard R16 Tomas Berdych 6-0 6-4

Berdych 2016 FastFacts
SF (2): Doha (l. to Djokovic); Marseille (l. to Kyrgios); QF (3): Australian Open (l. to Federer); Dubai (l. to Kyrgios); ATP Masters 1000 Miami (l. to Djokovic)
YTD W-L: 16-7 (0-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 12
Date of Birth: September 17, 1985
Emirates ATP Ranking: 7
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 18-11 (2015 Runner-up)

• The 30-year-old Czech, a Monte-Carlo resident, is making his 12th appearance (18-11 record) after reaching the final last year (l. to Djokovic); also reached SF in 2007 (l. to champion Nadal). Has not lost his opening match here since 2009 (1R l. to Fognini)
• Advanced to QF-or-better at 5 of 6 tournaments this season, most recently reaching ATP Masters 1000 Miami QF (l. to champion Djokovic)
• Reached 6th straight Australian Open QF (d. Bautista Agut in 5 sets, l. to No. 3 Federer)
• Fell to No. 1 Djokovic in Doha SF and Kyrgios in both Marseille SF and Dubai QF
• Helped Czech Republic defeat Germany 3-2 in Davis Cup 1R by winning 5-setter over A. Zverev in 4h, 20m
• Also won doubles w/Stepanek for 50th Davis Cup victory of career (d. Kohlschreiber/Petzschner)
• Retired with right hamstring injury in 4th rubber while trailing Kohlschreiber 63 75

Dzumhur 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 9-8 (1-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 20, 1992
Emirates ATP Ranking: 99
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 1-0 (2R – 2016)

• The 23-year-old Bosnian qualifier made his main draw debut with a 62 60 win over Haase in 1R
• Owns 1-5 record against Top 10 players (1-1 in 2016); beat No. 5 Nadal in ATP Masters 1000 Miami 2R when Spaniard retired trailing 26 64 30
• Lost in 2R at 1st 5 main draws of 2016 season: Doha, Australian Open, Sofia, Memphis and Delray Beach
• Avenged Memphis 2R loss by beating Berankis in Delray Beach 1R (l. to Dimitrov in 2R)
• Followed 1R losses at Acapulco (l. to champion Thiem) and ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to Granollers) by advancing to ATP Masters 1000 Miami 4R (d. No. 5 Nadal, l. to Raonic), a career-best run at a Masters 1000 event
• Rallied from 2 sets to 1 down to defeat Edmund in Australian Open 1R (l. to Goffin in 2R)

Pablo Cuevas (URU) vs [10] Milos Raonic (CAN) Raonic Leads 1-0
14 Oeiras (Portugal) Clay R16 Milos Raonic 6-3 6-2

Other meeting:
10 Valencia Q (Spain) Hard 1R Pablo Cuevas 1-6 6-4 7-5

Cuevas 2016 FastFacts:
W (2): Rio de Janeiro (d Pella); Sao Paulo (d Carreno Busta); QF: Buenos Aires (l Ferrer)
YTD W-L: 15-5 (12-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: January 1, 1986
Emirates ATP Ranking: 25
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 1-0 (2R – 2016)

• The 30-year-old Uruguayan is making his main draw debut. Fell in Q2 on only other appearance at Monte-Carlo Country Club in 2009
• Opened Tuesday with a 76(2) 67(2) 76(4) win over qualifier Gimeno-Traver in 1R
• Earned 9 straight wins on clay courts of Brazil, sweeping 4th and 5th career titles at Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo
• Captured 1st ATP World Tour 500 championship of career at Rio de Janeiro, becoming 1st player to beat only lefties en route to a title (d. Bagnis, Monteiro, Delbonis, No. 5 Nadal and Pella)
• Followed by beating Bagnis, Monteiro, Lajovic and Carreño Busta for 2nd straight São Paulo crown
• Earned 1st Australian Open singles win in 4th appearance (d. Nishioka, l. to Kyrgios in 2R)
• Reached Australian Open doubles SF w/Granollers (d. Dodig/Melo and Pospisil/Sock, l. to Nestor/Stepanek)

Raonic 2016 FastFacts:
W: Brisbane (d Federer); F: ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Djokovic); SF: Australian Open (l Murray); QF: ATP Masters 1000 Miami (l Kyrgios)
YTD W-L: 18-3 (1-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 8
Date of Birth: December 27, 1990
Emirates ATP Ranking: 12
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 8-5 (QF 2014-15)

• The 25-year-old Canadian, a Monte Carlo resident, is making his sixth tournament appearance. Reached QF past two seasons (2014 l. to champion Wawrinka, 2015 l. to No. 8 Berdych)
• Opened Monday with a 63 75 win over wild card Cecchinato in 1R
• Won 1st 9 matches of 2016 season, highlighted by 8th career title at Brisbane (d. No. 3 Federer). Win over Federer avenged loss to Swiss in 2015 Brisbane final
• Upset No. 4 Wawrinka in 5 sets en route to 2nd Grand Slam SF at Australian Open (l. to No. 2 Murray in 5 sets)
• Withdrew from Delray Beach, Acapulco and Davis Cup 1R due to muscular tear sustained in Australian Open SF
• Returned to reached ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells final (l. to Djokovic) and ATP Masters 1000 Miami QF (l. to Kyrgios)

[9] Richard Gasquet (FRA) vs [WC] Lucas Pouille (FRA) Gasquet Leads 1-0
15 Montpellier (France) Hard R16 Richard Gasquet 6-3 7-6(6)

Gasquet 2016 FastFacts:
W: Montpellier (d Mathieu); QF: Marseille (l Kyrgios)
YTD W-L: 11-3 (2-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 13
Date of Birth: June 18, 1986
Emirates ATP Ranking: 10
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 15-8 (SF-2005)

• The 29-year-old Frenchman is making his ninth appearance at the Monte Carlo Country Club (15-8 record); reached SF in 2005 (QF d. No. 1 Federer, SF l. to Nadal) and QF for third time in 2015 (l. to Fognini; also 2007, l. to Ferrero)
• Opened Monday with 64 60 win over Almagro in 1R
• Improved to 13-12 in ATP World Tour finals by earning 3rd title at Montpellier (d. Mathieu) in February
• Moved into 2nd place among Frenchmen in Open Era with 13 titles (Noah 23)
• Advanced to Marseille QF (l. to Kyrgios) and ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 4R (d. Dolgopolov, l. to Cilic)
• Clinched France’s Davis Cup 1R win over Canada in doubles w/Tsonga (d. Bester/Pospisil)
• Withdrew from Doha and Australian Open with back injury and from Rotterdam with flu

Pouille 2016 FastFacts:
QF: Brisbane (l Raonic)
YTD W-L: 6-6 (1-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: February 23, 1994
Emirates ATP Ranking: 82
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 2-1 (2R 2015-16)

• The 22-year-old Frenchman is making his second tournament appearance after reaching 2R on debut last year (l. to No. 5 Nadal)
• Opened with 76(1) 63 win over Mahut in 1R
• Advanced to 5th ATP World Tour singles QF at Brisbane (d. Goffin, l. to Raonic)
• Reached 1st doubles SF of career at Australian Open w/Mannarino (d. Bolelli/Fognini and Rojer/Tecau, l. to J. Murray/Soares)
• Reached 4R at ATP Masters 1000 event for first time in Miami (d. No. 8 Ferrer, l. to Simon)
• Fell to 0-3 lifetime at Australian Open with 1R loss to Raonic
• Qualified at Dubai (l. to Pospisil in 1R)

Alexander Zverev (GER) vs [LL] Marcel Granollers (ESP) First Meeting

Zverev 2016 FastFacts:
SF: Montpellier (l Mathieu); QF: Rotterdam (l Monfils)
YTD W-L: 11-8 (1-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: April 20, 1997
Emirates ATP Ranking: 54
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 1-0 (2R – 2016)

• The 18-year-old German made his tournament debut with a 61 63 win over wild card Rublev, also 18, in 1R
• Beat Dimitrov and Simon en route to ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 4R (l. to No. 5 Nadal after holding 1 MP). Afterwards, achieved career-high No. 52 in Emirates ATP Rankings on March 21
• Followed with 2R at ATP Masters 1000 Miami (l. to Johnson)
• Reached 3rd ATP singles SF at Montpellier (d. Vanni in 1R after saving 1 MP, l. to Mathieu)
• Win over No. 13 Cilic in Montpellier 2R is biggest of career by ranking
• Advanced to Rotterdam QF (d. Simon 76 in 3rd, l. to Monfils)
• Fell to eventual finalist Murray in 1R of Australian Open debut
• Appeared in 2nd ATP doubles final with older brother Mischa at Montpellier (l. to Pavic/Venus)
• In Davis Cup debut, fell to No. 7 Berdych in 4h, 20m and Rosol in deciding rubber (CZE d. GER 3-2)

Granollers 2016 FastFacts
YTD W-L: 4-8 (0-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: April 12, 1986
Emirates ATP Ranking: 67
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 3-7 (2R – 2009, 2013, 2015-16)

• The 30-year-old Spaniard is making his eighth main-draw appearance (3-7 record) as a Lucky Loser; fell in Q2 to Gimeno-Traver before replacing No. 6 seed Ferrer (calf injury)
• Started season 3-7 in singles, with wins at Australian Open (d. No. 106 Ebden), Memphis (d. No. 120 Jaziri) and ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (d. No. 93 Dzumhur)
• Fell to 0-6 lifetime in Australian Open 2R matches with loss to No. 11 Isner
• Reached Canberra, AUS Challenger SF (d. Halys, l. to Lorenzi)
• In doubles, advanced to Australian Open SF w/Cuevas (d. Dodig/Melo and Pospisil/Sock, l. to Nestor/Stepanek)

COURT 2

[16] Benoit Paire (FRA) vs Joao Sousa (POR) Sousa Leads 1-0
15 Valencia (Spain) Hard R16 Joao Sousa 6-3 2-6 6-3

Other meeting:
09 Portugal F5 (Portugal) Clay QF Benoit Paire 1-6 6-4 6-1

Paire 2016 FastFacts:
SF (2): Chennai (l Wawrinka), Marseille (l Cilic)
YTD W-L: 8-10 (1-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: May 8, 1989
Emirates ATP Ranking: 22
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 3-3 (2R-2013, ’15, ’16)

Sousa 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 5-10 (1-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: March 30, 1989
Emirates ATP Ranking: 34
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 2-2 (2R – 2015-16)

[Q] Taro Daniel (JPN) vs [12] Dominic Thiem (AUT) First Meeting

Daniel 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 2-7 (1-3 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: January 27, 1993
Emirates ATP Ranking: 90
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 1-0 (2R – 2016)

Thiem 2016 FastFacts:
W (2): Buenos Aires (d Almagro), Acapulco (d Tomic); SF (2): Brisbane (l Federer), Rio de Janeiro (l Pella)
YTD W-L: 25-6 (9-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: September 3, 1993
Emirates ATP Ranking: 14
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 1-2 (2R – 2016)

[11] David Goffin (BEL) vs [WC] Fernando Verdasco (ESP) Verdasco Leads 2-1
13 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R128 F. Verdasco 6-3 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-4
13 ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (Spain) Clay R64 F. Verdasco 7-6(2) 6-2
15 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (U.S.A.) Hard R32 David Goffin 6-4 7-6(4)

Goffin 2016 FastFacts:
SF (2): ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Raonic), ATP Masters 1000 Miami (l Djokovic); QF: Marseille (l Berdych)
YTD W-L: 17-6 (3-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: December 7, 1990
Emirates ATP Ranking: 13
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 2-3 (2R 2015-16)

Verdasco 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 8-6 (2-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 6
Date of Birth: November 15, 1983
Emirates ATP Ranking: 88
Monte-Carlo W-L (Best Result): 9-10 (Finalist – 2010)