Preview: French Open First Round: Stanislas Wawrinka vs. Arthur Fils - prediction, head to head

In a clash of generations at the French Open, Stanislas Wawrinka begins his last 2026 tournament at Roland-Garros against local favourite Arthur Fils on Sunday.

On Wednesday, Wawrinka featured for the last time in his home country of Switzerland, losing 6-7 (1-7) 6-7 (4-7) at the Geneva Open versus Alex Michelsen, while the young Frenchman was forced to retire from his opening match at the Italian Open this month against Andrea Pellegrino.

Match preview

It has been an emotional week for Stan Wawrinka, and that is unlikely to change when he takes to the court at Roland-Garros this weekend, possibly for the final time.

In three of his previous four appearances at a Grand Slam singles event, the powerful baseline player has been eliminated from his opening match, with Jacob Fearnley beating him in straight sets at this stage of the 2025 French Open.

The 2015 French Open champion has advanced beyond his opening match in his last two singles tournaments on clay, exiting the Geneva Open in the round of 16.

He has gone on to win three of his last five singles matches at this tournament after capturing the opening set.

For the year, the man nicknamed Stanimal has saved 56% of his break points and won 64% of his service games on clay.

Meanwhile, he has captured 67% of his first-serve points on clay in 2026, but has won just 21% of his return games on that surface.

Arthur Fils should be brimming with confidence as he aims to break an over four-decade drought for French men without a singles title at this event.

The charismatic 21-year-old is seen as France's best hope of winning this event for the first time since Yannick Noah in 1983.

Coming into this tournament, Fils has reached the quarter-finals or further in five of his last six ATP Tour events.

His only victory in the singles draw this year came on clay at the Barcelona Open, while he has reached the semi-finals or better in two of his last three events on that surface.

Home court and the support of the French crowd has not helped him at this event in the past, as he has exited this tournament in the opening round in two of his previous three appearances.

For the year, he has won 76% of his first-serve points on clay while capturing an impressive 87% of his service games on the surface thus far.

Head To Head

Open 13 Provence (2023) - Quarter-finals: Fils wins 6-2 6-3

The only previous meeting between these two took place in Marseille over three years ago when Fils won an incredible 96% of his first serves while also converting four break points to come out on top.