Wawrinka Punches Ticket to U.S. Open Quarterfinals

September 1, 2014 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Sarah Sklar

Swizterland's Stan Wawrinka, the 2014 Australian Open champ, outlasted 16th-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 on Monday to earn a spot in the 2014 U.S. Open quarterfinals. The fourth-ranked player in the world fought off two set points in the third-set on his way to the Round of 16 victory at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The two players would exchange wins through the first two sets, with a number of unforced errors from the Australian Open champion allowing Robredo to escape in the second frame. After exchanging holds, the third set would go to a tie-breaker where Robredo jumped ahead 6-4. Wawrinka dug down and fended off two set points and eventually snuck out the tie-break, 9-7.

With momentum on his side, Wawrinka dominated the fourth set. He converted both of his break point chances and ripped three aces on serve to close out the match in just over three hours.

"It was a really tough battle today. It's always tough to play against him, he is always fighting," said Wawrinka.

Wawrinka and Robredo brought two completely different styles of play to the table. The Swiss, who also beat Robredo in the Round of 16 at this year's Australian Open, tried to use an aggressive style on his way to ripping a remarkable 75 winners. With that aggressive style though, he also committed 58 unforced errors. The 32-year old from Spain played a much more defensive style, hitting just 19 winners to go along with 31 unforced errors.

It is the third straight quarterfinal appearance at the U.S. Open for Wawrinka. He will play the winner of fifth-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic and 10th seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan who got underway late Monday night under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium.


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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