Top seed Stan Wawrinka overcame his Marseille nemesis Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(8), in the second round of the ATP Open 13.
The encounter was a case of deja vu for both men. In last year’s tournament Wawrinka suffered a surprise three sets loss to the world No.81 in the quarterfinals of the tournament. This year the top seed was in danger of history repeating itself after he was forced to save two match points during a titanic battle in his first match since the Australian Open.
The majority of the encounter consisted of both men matching each other game by game. The world No.4 was the first player to come under pressure when serving at 4-4 in the opening set, Wawrinka trailed 0-40. Despite Stakhovsky’s triple opportunity to break for a chance to serve for the one set lead, he failed to convert as Wawrinka held to move ahead 5-4. A further blow was dealt to the Ukrainian in the following game when the top seed broke for the first time in the match to clinch the opening set.
Leading by a set, Wawrinka still had lots of work to do to get revenge on his opponent. Similar to the opening set, one below-par service game dictated the outcome of the second set. A well constructed rally from the world No.81 forced the favorite to return the ball out, giving Stakhovsky the break for a chance to serve out the second set. The task was straightforward the Ukrainian who raced to 40-0 to award himself three set points. Stakhovsky claimed the set after a return from Wawrinka narrowly missed the baseline.
The French Open champion put himself under further pressure during the early stages of the final set after a forehand unforced error handed Stakhovsky the early break to lead 2-1. Fortunately for the top seed, he broke back immediately after a carefully crafted backhand slice forced his rival to return the ball into the net. After the exchange of breaks, there was once again little to distinguish between the two men on the court as the decisive tiebreaker approached.
Initially Wawrinka was on course to cruising to the win after a double break followed by an outstanding backhand passing shot elevated the Swiss to 4-1. Still Stakhovsky refused to be defeated as he battled back to level once again at 4-4. The world No.81 was the first player to get to match point but failed to take the chance after a monster serve from Wawrinka. There were more ups and downs during the remainder of the roller coaster tiebreaker. The Swiss then failed to convert his first match point before denying Stakhovsky his second chance. To the relief of the Wawrinka camp, the proceedings were concluded after a backhand down the line sealed his victory.
During his marathon second round match, Wawrinka produced seven aces, won 71% of his service points and saved 3/5 break points. Awaiting him in the next round will be either eighth seed Benoit Paire or qualifier Vincent Millot.
Shot of the match
tweener-lob winner by @Stako_tennis pic.twitter.com/zGpGL8xeJo
— Stroppa Del (@stroppadel) February 17, 2016
