Stanislas Wawrinka battles past Hiroki Moriya into the second round – Rakuten Japan Open 2012
Switzerland’s second best player, Stanislas Wawrinka, defeated local wild card entrant, Hiroki Moriya, in three sets 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round of the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo.
Moriya is ranked 184th in the world and could not enter the event directly but organisers made a good choice to award him a wild card, as the 21-year-old proved that he has potential to improve. The Japanese gave tough
time to the world number 16 from beginning to end of the contest.
Wawrinka and Moriya went neck to neck in the first 10 games, squaring off the proceedings at 5-5. The Swiss player earned a breakthrough in the 11th and capitalised on it to win the first set 7-5.
The 6ft tall relied on his first serve to win most of the points, as he pounded eight aces and grabbed 18 of the 22. The 27-year-old was a bit erratic on the second ones, losing 11 of the 22 points on them including two double
faults.
Second set went in almost similar manner, as both players won their serve in the opening nine games to take the score to 5-4 in favour of Moriya. The Japanese player raised the level of play when it was required most, as he won
four straight points on Wawrinka’s serve to break him and close the second set 6-4.
Moriya gave an average performance on his serve but it was enough for him to level the match. The Japanese participant banged in a single ace and 69 percent of the first serves, claiming 17 of the 22 points on them.
The Swiss star did not get under pressure at that moment, as he hit a blow to Moriya in the very first game of the decider and held his subsequent serve to attain a 2-0 lead. The Japanese contender broke back in the sixth to even
out the score at 3-3. Though, this fight back from the Japanese player went in vain, as Wawrinka claimed three of the following four games to triumph 6-4.
The Swiss player will face France’s Jeremy Chardy in the second round.
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