WAWRINKA WANTS WIN

Stanislas Wawrinka is desperate to go all the way in the Swiss Open this time around. The Swiss no. 2 has participated in this tournament 9 times before, but, he hasn’t managed to win it even once.

Wawrinka is currently at no. 10 in the world rankings. His recent form hasn’t been that good. He didn’t have a good outing in the recently played Wimbledon Championships as he got knocked out from an early stage. He will be looking to regain some form in the Swiss Open.

The Swiss no. 1 Roger Federer is also going to take part in the Swiss Open this year. This will be Federer’s first appearance in this tournament in the last 10 years.

When asked about that, Wawrinka said, “It’s wonderful that Roger will be participating this year. He is an absolute legend and to have him back in this tournament is great for Swiss tennis.”

Federer has been given the top seed in this tournament. Wawrinka, Janko Tipsarevic and Juan Monaco are the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th seeds respectively. All these 4 players have been given a bye in the opening round.

When asked about his not so good record in Swiss Open, Wawrinka said, “It’s true that I haven’t had a great record in this tournament, but, I am looking to improve that. This is the 10^th time and I really want to reach the final and win it this time around.”

“The clay here is slightly different. Because of the altitude, the ball flies. So, it’s going to be tough for the players.”

“I have had a decent season so far. I want to stay in top 10 for a long time. Hopefully, I will be able to perform consistently in the remaining part of the season.”

WAWRINKA OUTCLASSED

Stanislas Wawrinka has been defeated by Rafael Nadal in the quarter final of the ongoing French Open. Nadal won the match in the straight sets by 6-2, 6-3, 6-1.

It was another high class performance by Nadal. Just like the last game, he was at his peak. He thrashed Wawrinka and got closer to winning the French open singles title for the 8^th time in his career.

This was the 10^th match between these two players and Nadal has won all of them.

Nadal began aggressively and in the very first game of the first set, he broke Wawrinka’s serve to take a lead of 1-0. The next 3 games went with the serve and at the end of the 4^th game; Nadal was ahead by 3-1.

In the 5^th game, Wawrinka dropped his serve again and got trailed by 1-4. It was hard for him to bounce back after that. He required to break Nadal’s serve a couple of times to level the proceedings, but, he wasn’t able to do that. Nadal served out the 6^th and the 8^th game and won the opener by 6-2.

In the second set, both the players held their serve in the first 2 games. Nadal got a breakthrough in the 3^rd game to take a lead of 2-1.

The next couple of games went with the serve again and then, in the 6^th game, Wawrinka broke Nadal back to make the score 3-3.

But, that didn’t disturb Nadal’s concentration. He kept his cool and broke Wawrinka’s serve twice after that (in the 7^th and the 9^th game) to bag the set by 6-3.

In the third set, Wawrinka looked awfully nervous. Some of his shots were extremely poor and it was clear that the pressure got on him. The Swiss no. 2 dropped his serve in the 2^nd and the 4^th game and got trailed by 0-5.

Although, Wawrinka held his serve in the 6^th game, but, that was not going to save him from defeat. He needed to break Nadal’s serve in the 7^th game to extend the match, but, he couldn’t do that. Nadal served it out and won the match to make his way into the final 4 where he will face the no. 1 player in the world Novak Djokovic.

WAWRINKA LOSES TO TSONGA

Stanislas Wawrinka has been defeated by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter final of the Monte Carlo Masters. Tsonga won the match by 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Tsonga who has been given the sixth seed in this competition had to fight hard to defeat the Swiss no. 2. He was trailing by a set at one point of time, but, he showed great temperament and played some quality tennis in the second and the third set to make his way into the final 4. The match went on for 2 hours and 10 minutes.

In the post match interview, Tsonga said, “I didn’t get the kind of start that I wanted, but, it was important not to get demoralized. I just tried to calm myself down before the second set and decided to play with a positive approach in the remainder of the match.”

In the opening set, neither of the two players dropped his serve in the first four games and the scores were levelled at 2-2 when the 4^th game got finished.

After that, it was a Wawrinka show in the first set. With serve breaks in the 5^th and the 7^th game, he won the next four games in a row and sealed the first set by 6-2.

In the second set, Tsonga started well. He broke Wawrinka’s serve in the 4^th game and then, with a serve hold in the 5^th game, he took a lead of 4-1. The next three games went with the serve and Tsonga was leading by 5-3 at the end of the 8^th game.

To take the set further, Wawrinka had to stop Tsonga from holding his serve in the 9^th game which he couldn’t do. With an easy serve hold, the Frenchman took the match into the third set.

In the third set, Tsonga got a breakthrough in the 7^th game to take a lead of 4-3. Thereafter, he won his remaining service games and kept his lead till the end to win the set by 6-4.

In the semi final, Tsonga will face the winner of the match between Rafael Nadal and Grigor Dimitrov.

WAWRINKA WINS

Stanislas Wawrinka has defeated Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday. Wawrinka won the match in the straight sets by 6-4, 7-5.

In the fourth round, Wawrinka will play against his compatriot and world no. 2 Roger Federer who defeated Ivan Dodig of Croatia to earn a place in the 4^th round. Federer injured his back a little bit while playing against Dodig, but, he confirmed in the post match interview that he will be fit to take part in the 4^th round match.

This was the 3^rd match between Wawrinka and Hewitt. Out of the previous couple of matches, both the players had won apiece.

Wawrinka got his first breakthrough in the 5^th game of the opening set. That breakthrough eventually proved to be sufficient for him to win the first set. He just kept on holding his serve after that and grabbed the first set by 6-4.

In the second set, Wawrinka again got a breakthrough in the 5^th game. But, this time, his advantage didn’t last long. Hewitt broke in the 8^th game to equalize the proceedings.

A double fault by Hewitt towards the end of the 11^th game gave Wawrinka his second breakthrough in the set. The Swiss player served out the next game which sealed the match in his favour.

After the match, Wawrinka said, “Lleyton is a fine player. We all know about his capabilities. So, getting a straight set victory against him is really satisfying. I did well on my serve and I also managed to time the return shots well.”

When asked about his next match against Roger Federer, Wawrinka said, “That’s going to be really tough. Roger has been in outstanding touch and he has been dominant in every match that he has played in this competition so far. I need to be at my peak if I have to go past him.”

WAWRINKA LOSES OUT

Stanislas Wawrinka has been defeated by Novak Djokovic in the fourth round of the Australian Open 2013. Djokovic won the match by 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7(5), 12-10. This was a mighty close clash. It went on for five hours and 2 minutes.

This was the 16^th match between these two players and Djokovic defeated Wawrinka for the 14^th time. With this victory, Djokovic has reached the quarter finals.

Wawrinka came into the match with all guns blazing. The Swiss no. 2 completely outsmarted Djokovic in the opening set. Djokovic managed to hold his serve in the first game and that remained the only game to be won by him in the set. Wawrinka won the next six games consecutively with three serve breaks and sealed the first set by 6-1.

Wawrinka started brilliantly in the following set as well and at one point of time, he was ahead by 5-2. It seemed that the Swiss player was on his way to win the second set as well, but, that wasn’t the case to be. The World no. 1 made a magnificent comeback and won the next five games on the trot to win the second set by 7-5.

Djokovic kept the momentum going in the third set and started with a serve break in the first game. However, his service was broken in the very next game and he lost the advantage.  The next six games went with the serve and at the end of the 8^th game; the scorecard was showing 4-4. Djokovic got a breakthrough in the ninth game and then, finished off the set by holding his service in the 10^th game.

But, after losing two consecutive sets, Wawrinka raised the standard of his game and played better in the fourth set. Although, he didn’t get any breakthrough but, he held his entire serve to take the set into the tie breaker. Wawrinka held his nerves in the tie breaker and won the fourth set to come back into the match.

Djokovic didn’t have a good start in the final set and he dropped his serve in the first game, but, he levelled the scores by breaking Wawrinka’s service in the 2^nd game. The next 19 games went with the serve. Djokovic got a breakpoint in the 22^nd game and he latched on that opportunity to win the fifth set and end this marathon match.

In the quarter final match, Djokovic will take on Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic.

RUNER UP

Stanislas Wawrinka was the runner up in the Chennai Open tournament in 2010. In the following year, the Swiss star went one step further and won this tournament. But, he didn’t manage to defend his title last year and was defeated by Go Soeda of Japan in the quarter final.

Wawrinka will again be participating in the Chennai Open 2013 which is going to be played from 31^st of December to 6^th of January.

Wawrinka talked to the correspondent of an Indian newspaper about this tournament and about his own game. When asked about how good this tournament is, Wawrinka said, “It’s a very good event. This tournament provides fantastic preparation for the Australian Open. The courts over here are not too much different from what we get in Australia.”

“The second incredible thing about this event is the atmosphere. People turn up in big numbers to watch the matches and cheer for their favourite players. When you play in front of such jam packed crowds, it gives you a bit more motivation to do well.

“I have enjoyed participating in this tournament since the last few years and I have done reasonably well here. I have worked hard in the off season. Hopefully, that would pay off and I would manage to win this tournament again.”

When asked about the strongest aspect of his game, Wawrinka said, “I think I serve pretty well and I am also good at playing backhand shots, but, I need to do a bit of work on my forehand.”

When asked about the best moment of his career, Wawrinka said, “Winning the gold medal in the doubles competition of Beijing Olympics was the best moment of my career. Every player dreams of winning a gold medal for his country in the Olympics and only a few players have managed to do that. I am one of them. So, that has to be the proudest moment of my career.”