Stanislas Wawrinka and Nicolas Mahut progress into semis – Topshelf Open 2013
Swiss star, Stanislas Wawrinka, got the better of the fifth seed, Jeremy Chardy, in straight sets at the Topshelf Open 2013 on Thursday.
The French qualifier, Nicolas Mahut, also stole the show after trouncing Russia’s Evgeny Donskoy with a 6-3, 7-6(1) victory at this Wimbledon warm-up event held in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
Seeded second in this event, Wawrinka warded off late resistance to overpower Chardy in their fourth encounter. As a result, he improved to a 4-0 lifetime in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series against the Frenchman and progressed into the final four.
The Swiss star commented in a courtside interview after earning the glory, “I'm really happy. I've played three great matches, especially today. I was really focussed, really aggressive and serving well. It was a tough match against Chardy today, but I'm
really happy to get through to the semi-finals. The most important thing for me is to have confidence in my game. On grass I can play really good, really fast, but you can get broken really fast and it's important to stay strong mentally.”
Both contestants played brilliantly in their opening few games. However, Wawrinka got the breakthrough in the last game and clinched the opener with a 6-4 score line.
The world number 10, Wawrinka, lost his track in the following set and suffered the first blow in the opening game. However, he stayed calm and not only recovered in the 10th game but also took the set to a tie-breaker. The Swiss dominated in it and clicked
the set with a 7-6(2) win.
Wawrinka will face off the Spanish challenger, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. He leads 3-2 in the head-to-head series against the Spaniard.
The qualifier on the other hand displayed brilliant tennis to progress. He required one hour and 41 minutes securing a spot in the last four.
The Frenchman was quoted in a post match presser, “It's been a good week. It's my first semi-final since 2007. I'm really, really happy about that. I was injured for six months and didn't know if I could play again on the tour.”
Mahut comfortable started his match and held his opening serve with poise. He drew the first blood in the sixth game and jumped to a 5-2 lead. The French kept his serve once again and pulled out the opener with a 6-2 score line.
In the second set both challengers lifted their game. They held their entire serves and took the set to a tie-breaker. Mahut outclassed the Russian in it and pocketed the set with a 7-6(1) win.
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