Veterans Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic want to turn back the clock in Basel, where they did well to reach the second round. The following Thursday are Casper Ruud and Felix Auger-Aliassime respectively.
(4) Casper Ruud vs. (WK) Stan Wawrinka
What could be Wawrinka’s final appearance at the Swiss Indoors Basel got off to an excellent start on Tuesday with a 6-1, 7-6(3) victory over Miomir Kecmanovic. It also came a bit out of nowhere. The 49-year-old Swiss had been a disastrous 2-11 on the 2025 main tour earlier this week.
Wawrinka stands in the way of Thursday’s quarter-finals Ruud, who lost their only previous meeting 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the same Basel tournament in 2022. Naturally, the two players have gone in completely different directions since then. Ruud remains a fixture in the top 15 (currently in 11th place) and the 26-year-old Norwegian wins an indoor hard court title in Stockholm. He then defeated Quentin Halys 6-1, 7-6(3) on Wednesday – yes, the exact same scoreline with which Wawrinka won his first-round match. It’s also worth noting that Wawrinka has never played great in front of the home fans in Basel; he is 17-16 years old at this event without titles. This will probably be one-way traffic.
Choice: Ruud in 2
(5) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. (Q) Marin Cilic
Auger-Aliassime continued his quest for the Nitto ATP Finals by triumphing on Basel’s indoor hard courts last weekend. The twelfth-ranked Canadian is an absolute force indoors; seven of his eight career titles have appeared on this surface. Auger-Aliassime shows no signs of slowing down either, as he opened in Basel with a 6-2, 7-5 defeat to dangerous compatriot Gabriel Diallo.
Next up for Auger-Aliassime on Wednesday is another former champion in Basel. Cilic, the 2016 winner, is still in the top 100 at the age of 37. The 89th-ranked Croatian reached the fourth round at Wimbledon this summer, proving he can still be somewhat successful on fast courts. Cilic, who defeated David Goffin 7-6(9), 7-5 in the first round of Basel, is 3-2 against Auger-Aliassime for life. However, the 25-year-old has won twice in a row and has not lost to Cilic since the 2021 Stuttgart final. Expect Auger-Aliassime’s winning streak to continue in routine fashion.
Choice: Auger-Aliassime in 2
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