Stanislas Wawrinka rallies past Kevin Anderson into the quarterfinal – Rogers Cup 2011
Fourteenth seed Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland survived the second set scare to overcome world number 35 Kevin Anderson of South Africa in three sets 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the third round at the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Thursday.
The Swiss took two hours and 24 minutes to seal the match.
Wawrinka and the South African held their serve until the seventh game when the former won his opponent’s service game to take a 4-3 lead. The Swiss consolidated on the break of serve and served out the set in the tenth game, capturing
it 6-4.
The world number 17 was erratic with his second serve, committing four double faults. However, he compensated that by smacking a couple of aces and clinching fifteen of the seventeen first service points in the opening set.
The Swiss and Anderson held their serve in the first nine games of the second set and took the score to 5-4 in favour of the latter. The South African broke Wawrinka in the tenth game to grab the set 6-4.
The six feet and eight inches tall relied on his serve to win most of the points, claiming sixteen of the 21 points on the first serve and hitting two aces in the second set.
Wawrinka bounced back after losing the second set as he broke the South African in the first game of the third set, holding his serve in the next game to build a 2-0 lead. The Swiss did not lose his own serve throughout the set,
capturing it 6-4.
The Lausanne born grabbed fourteen of the seventeen points on the first serve and capitalised on one of the two break point opportunities he created on Anderson’s serve in the final set.
A jubilant Wawrinka said, talking to the reporters, "I was happy because I had a good level of tennis today against a player that was tough. I had a long match in three sets, but I'm playing well in this period. All the players
are doing well, too, so it is a bit complicated. I need to find the weaknesses of my opponents to be able to win."
The Swiss will meet sixth seed Mardy Fish of USA in the quarterfinals.
Commenting on his next opponent, the Wawrinka added, “I believe Fish has been playing well during the past year and a half. He's now Top 10. He won his first tournament and he's playing well. He seems to be extremely fit. He serves
well and moves well now. He's able to dictate the game.”
The Swiss lost to Fish in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 in their only previous meeting in New Haven four years back.
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