Chennai: If there is one thing that Stan Wawrinka hasn’t mastered in his eight consecutive appearances at the ATP Chennai Open, it’s his batting grip. As a post-match custom here, the winner wields a cricket bat to slam a few souvenirs into the stands and the way the Swiss grips the willow — left as bottom hand for a right-hander — isn’t pleasing to the purists.
However, none was bothered about the imperfection in his cricket abilities, especially after the World No.4 continued his stranglehold on the country’s only ATP event by becoming the first player to complete a hat-trick of titles here. The clinical 6-3, 7-5 win over Croatian Borna Coric in just under 90 minutes swelled his tally to fourth in Chennai. The winning streak was extended to 12 matches that includes another staggering stat of 24 straight sets.
Results (both finals)
Singles: Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) bt Borna Coric (Croatia) 6-3, 7-5. Doubles: Oliver Marach (Austria) Frabrice Martin (France) bt Benoit Paire (France)/ Austin Krajicek (USA) 6-3, 7-5.
