VIENNA, Oct 4: Swiss top-seed Stanislas Wawrinka can expect a comfortable start to his bid for a second career singles title at the Bank Austria Tennis Trophy event in Vienna this week.

Ranked 36 at the beginning of the season the 23-year old has since climbed to nine in the world, while also winning a gold medal in doubles at the Beijing Olympics with partner Roger Federer.

He will play a qualifier in the first round, and could face another in the second before a possible quarter-final meeting with either seventh seed Gilles Simon of France or Spanish former finalist Carlos Moya.

Second seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile is one of several seeded players who face a long journey from Tokyo.Third seed Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina and sixth seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo also have to travel from Asia.

Gonzalez, who finished as runner-up to Ivan Ljubicic in 2006, faces another player making the long trip from the East, Italy’s Simone Bolelli, in the first round, and then can expect to meet the talented but unpredictable Frenchman Gael Monfils in the quarter-finals.

Del Potro has been one of the hottest players on the Tour in the past few months, and he became the newest member of the world’s top 10 following his semi-final win in Tokyo over Richard Gasquet on Saturday.

His quarter-final opponent could be the struggling Argentine Guillermo Canas, whose only victory in his last five matches came from a retirement by Frederic Niemeyer at the Beijing Olympics, or fifth seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain.

Big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic, who has fired more than 800 aces this season, has a difficult draw.

After beginning against former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, he could face two-time former champion Ivan Ljubicic in the second round and then sixth seeded Tommy Robredo in the quarter-finals.

In other opening round matches, fifth seed Verdasco begins against a qualifier, sixth seed Robredo takes on Austria’s Stefan Koubek, seventh seed Gilles Simon of France plays Eduardo Schwank of Argentina and eighth seeded Monfils faces Austrian wild card Alexander Peya.

Featuring seven of the world’s top 18 players, the tournament offers prize money of 674,000 euros with a winner’s cheque of 139,000 euros.

Seeds: 1 Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland); 2 Fernando Gonzalez (Chile); 3 Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina); 4 Ivo Karlovic (Croatia); 5 Fernando Verdasco (Spain); 6 Tommy Robredo (Spain); 7 Gilles Simon (France); 8 Gael Monfils (France).—AFP