Stanislas Wawrinka outlasts Milos Raonic to get through to the semis – Western & Southern Open 2012
Swiss number two, Stanislas Wawrinka, stopped Milos Raonic from reaching his first semi-final at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, as he defeated the Canadian in the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati
on Friday.
Wawrinka lost the opener but came back later on to win two back-to-back sets, clinching the contest 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in two hours and 21 minutes.
The Swiss star and Raonic started the match by holding their opening serves and levelling the score at 1-1. The Canadian contender hit a blow to Wawrinka in the third and consolidated on it to go up 3-1. Raonic stung second breakthrough
in the seventh and made the most of his double advantage to seal it 6-2.
Second set was the most competitive of all, as Raonic and Wawrinka did not allow each other to break even once till the end, equalising the score at 6-6 and forcing a tie-breaker. The Swiss player made an early mini-break to move
ahead 2-0 and maintained his lead till the end to grab it 7-6(5).
Carrying the winning momentum into the decider, Wawrinka struck in the third game and won his next serve to gain a 3-1 lead. The 27-year-old did not allow his younger rival to come back in the match, closing it 6-4.
Wawrinka pounded eight aces and made a couple of double faults in the match. The Swiss player maintained a first serve percentage of 51 and clinched 38 of the 51 points on them. The 6ft tall survived 17 aces from Raonic throughout
the contest. Wawrinka saved four of the six break points he faced and converted the only chance he received.
The Swiss star was his country’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony of London Olympics but lost in the first round of singles event.
Wawrinka said, “This week I'm playing great tennis. I had a tough last two months. It was not easy, especially after the French Open. I played a great French Open, but then I lost [in the] first round at Wimbledon, Gstaad [and
the] Olympics.”
He added, “It was not easy, but I'm really happy to be back on the hard courts. Since the beginning of the tournament, I'm focussed on what I'm doing and I'm happy to be in the semi-final here.”
Wawrinka will lock horns with his countryman and close friend, Roger Federer, in the semi-finals.
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