Stanislas Wawrinka bounces back to advance at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open
12th seeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka upsets 7th seeded Czech Tomas Berdych after bouncing back to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the quarter-finals at Indian Wells on Wednesday.
Both 25-year-old players are in their top forms and displayed an awe-inspiring game of tennis in a three-set thriller. Ranked 14th in the world, Wawrinka faced the Czech for the ninth time and after dumping him in this
tournament he extended his head-to-head lead by 5-4.
World number 7, Berdych who was forced out of semi-finals at Dubai due to injury, reached this spot without losing a set. He carried his form in the opening set and broke Wawrinka’s serve in the very first game. Though the Swiss
broke back and levelled at 2-2, Berdych through his great tact, broke the Swiss serve again in the seventh game to eventually win the game with a 6-3 score line.
Despite winning the title at Chennai and having a quarter-final berth at Australian open and Acapulco, Wawrinka had little impact when the Czech made his moves. However, Swiss took advantage of Berdych’s many unforced errors and
broke Czech serve in the very first game. Although neither broke serve after, the early break helped Wawrinka clinch the equalizer set 6-4.
In the final set, Wawrinka outshined the Czech again in every department of tennis. Both exchanged a break earlier but Swiss broke Berdych’s serve in the ninth game again and held his serve spectacularly in the proceeding game
to win with a 6-4 score line.
Overall Wawrinka hammered 8 aces, saved five out of nine break points and had a higher first serve percentage of 54 percent as compared to the Czech’s 46 percent. He also registered an impressive 76 percent win on it.
He will next face his 2nd seeded countryman Roger Federer. The world number two, Federer, reached this place after overpowering American wild card Ryan Harrison in straight sets in a late night match.
The top seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal also advanced to the quarter-finals after triumphing over Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman in straight sets. Though the world number one Nadal registered a 7-5, 6-4 victory over the Indian,
but he admitted he wasn’t at his best.
"I played very bad, especially in the beginning. He didn't play well, but I played terrible in the beginning. I improved a little bit, but the first set was really bad."
The in-form Spaniard committed two double faults and converted only three out of nine breakpoint opportunities to his advantage. He also had a lower first serve percentage of 59 percent as opposed to Devvarman’s 75 percent. However,
he earned a 70 percent win on his first serve to clinch the match.
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