Olympics Tennis Day Four Tips: Why to back Stan the Man at Evens

• Impressive start from Wawrinka

• Erratic Popyrin

• Back Stan the Man at 1/12.00

The performance of the first round came from an unexpected source. 39 year-old Stan Wawrinka walloped Pavel Kotov, who had beaten him at Roland Garros a month and a half ago.

It was a great showing from the 2015 French Open champion, who was hitting the ball cleanly to blow away a quality opponent.

Stan may be in the twilight moments of his career but he is still competitive and in one-off matches he's not an opponent you want to see across the net.

Happy Stan

Stan has already tasted Olympic success in his career, pairing with legendary compatriot Roger Federer to win doubles Gold for Switzerland at Beijing 2008.

He also has an affinity for Paris, having won here in the peak of his career.

Speaking before the start of this event the Swiss said, "I'm super happy and excited to be playing the Olympics. Olympics is a dream for every athlete. It's a celebration of sports in general. I loved the experience I had in Beijing and in London so I'm super excited to be here in Paris...I'm happy that we're playing in Paris, in Roland Garros. I love the city, I love the place, so it's going to be exciting."

The Olympic rings and a familiar hunting crowd have provided Stan a platform to have a free swing, and his performance against Kotov was of the highest calibre. He didn't face a single break point and was bullying his Russian opponent from start to finish.

Stan is still capable of these good performances. The problem for him is backing it up and physically lasting over the course of a tournament. However, he benefits here from the three set format - usually Grand Slams are played over five - and there are rest days in this early part of the tournament.

Whilst it will be difficult for Wawrinka to repeat the extremely impressive level of his round one match, there's no reason to expect a massive drop off.

Tuesday's conditions are expected to reach 37°C and that will favour Stan's attacking, front foot approach. Dry conditions will react favourably to his power.

Flaky Alexei

I am also keen to oppose Alexei Popyrin. I struggle to see a strong reason for him to be favourite in this match-up.

Popyrin is the ultimate hot and cold player. From one week to next you're not quite sure what version of the Australian you are going to get.

He is undoubtedly talented and does have the tools to be successful on all surfaces, and arguably clay is where he does his best work as shown by his title win in Umag last season.

However, his title defence was a disaster as he could barely find the court in a disappointing collapse against Jakub Mensik. I watched that match and it was a feeble effort from a defending champion at a venue where he can play well.

His first round display here was decent as he overcame Nicolas Jarry. However, the Chilean has barely played recently and skipped the altitude clay events in Europe, which is the ideal conditions for him. It suggests something isn't quite right with Jarry.

That is not enough of a reason for Popyrin to be favoured here. He's not a player I feel comfortable backing at this price range, especially against a opponent of Stan's ability.

At 1/12.00 I think Stan is worth a look. If he brings his round one level he will make that price seem silly.

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