Federer, Wawrinka and more top spin BH part II: The Stroke phase

Wawrinka Movie Ranking: 4 / 5

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.”

SPIN IT WIN IT with VCORE – Stan Wawrinka

Wawrinka Movie Rating: five / five

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.

Stanislas Wawrinka – The Open Drive: Australian Open 2011

Wawrinka Movie Score: 5 / 5

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.”