The Swiss will now take on his doubles partner Guillermo Garcia-Lopez for a place in the semifinals.
Chennai: Andrey Rublev of Russia in action against Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland during their Second round match for the ATP Chennai Open 2016 at SDAT Tennis Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday. (Photo: AP)
Chennai: The famous single-handed backhand was back on the show and it was at its glorious best. The most potent weapon of Stan Wawrinka, who is gunning for a hat trick of titles here at the ATP Chennai Open, fired winners at will as Russian wild card Andrey Rublev found it too hot to handle. Wawrinka hardly broke a sweat in his 6-2, 6-2 victory, compiled in just under an hour. The Swiss will now take on his doubles partner Guillermo Garcia-Lopez for a place in the semifinals.
Spaniard Garcia-Lopez braved his calf injury to quell the challenge of a qualifier in Ante Pavic (Cro), 7-6(5), 6-1. Wawrinka said he was happy to go through the first match of the year as it’s always been tricky. “I had a good off-season with my coach Magnus Norman and I am looking forward to put some of the things I learnt to use in the coming weeks,” said the top seed.
Though the World No.4 and reigning French Open champion was hardly tested by the Russian, Wawrinka was all praise for his young opponent. “No doubt, he is a big talent. He is fast on the court and has big game. I am sure he will find his way up as he has got age on his side,” added Wawrinka.
While it was a lesson learned the hard way for the Russian teenager, another 19-year-old continued his impressive run. Croatian teen Borna Coric, the youngest in the top 50, grunted his way into the quarterfinals after getting the better of American Austin Krajicek 6-2, 7-5.
Meanwhile, No.2 seed Kevin Anderson announced his pull-out from the tournament citing an injury to his left knee. The South African will be replaced by ‘lucky loser’ from qualifying Alexander Kudryavtsev who will now meet India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan for a place in the quarterfinals.
Anderson, who was set for his maiden appearance in Chennai, said he was disappointed to withdraw. “It comes at a tricky time... Not an ideal start to the year,” said Anderson.
The injury has been a recurring issue. “It is always about managing it and I have been able to maintain it for a considerable amount of time but it just aggravated,” he said.
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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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