Stanislas Wawrinka rallies past David Nalbandian to get through to the second round – Rogers Cup 2011
A convincing victory for the world number 14, Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, as he disposed off the former world number three, David Nalbandian of Argentina, in the opening round of Rogers Cup on Monday afternoon.
Being a part of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Master Series 1000, the competition was staged on the hard courts of at the Uniprix Stadium in Montreal, Canada. Seeded at number 14 in the tournament, Wawrinka wrapped
up his straight sets victory in the most comprehensive manner at 6-1, 6-4, to advance to the second round of the event. The unseeded Argentine hung in the matchup for one hour and nine minutes before he succumbed to the fury of the Swiss number two in the
second set.
Although Wawrinka delivered just 47 per cent of his serve on target in the contest, the Swiss reeled off 17 out of 21 first serve points to get the better of his opponent. Nalbandian coughed five double faults on the most critical
moments in the matchup and his errant stroke play greatly assisted the Swiss to victory.
Wawrinka crafted eight opportunities to break his rival’s serve in the matchup and converted half of the chances en route to victory. He was off to a flying start in the opener and took hold of the game right away. The Swiss adopted
aggressive strategy from the beginning and kept dominating the set from the very first minute of play. He secured all his first serve points in the opening set and fired six aces to take the better of Nalbandian early in the contest.
The Swiss registered his first serve break of the day in the fourth game and then repeated the act in the next game as well to race away to 5-1 lead. Nalbandian was left with no option but to submit to the belligerence of Wawrinka,
who sealed the first set at 6-1 to get one up in the contest.
The Argentine broke Wawrinka in the second set but two break point conversions from the Swiss proved decisive in the game and closed out victory for him at 6-4, sending him into the second round of the tournament. Wawrinka will
take on either the American qualifier, Michael Craig Russell or the Spaniard, Albert Montanes, in the next round of the tournament.
Wawrinka’s victory over Nalbandian was his 26th success in the running ATP season and has improved his head-to-head lead over the Argentine by 5-3.
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