In a performance of calculated aggression, top seed Stan Wawrinka blunted a fierce challenge from Gilles Muller to enter the semifinals of the Aircel Chennai Open on Friday.
He meets Belgian David Goffin, who came through in straight sets against Andreas Haider-Maurer.
On a day when his backhand didn’t necessarily fire when summoned, Wawrinka had to search for newer weapons — like the sliced and expertly redirected return winners — and also beat the elements, like the steady wind that blew across the court.
The first set scoreline of 6-2 suggests a mere routine for Wawrinka. But, both players initially struggled to control their shots. The breeze often caused the ball to drift away, flying off the racquet when not connected properly.
It was then that Wawrinka curbed his natural instinct to go for power and instead loaded his shots with enough top spin to pull them back and hit the court earlier.
“The conditions were a bit windy,” said Wawrinka after the 6-2, 7-6(4) win. “I had to take it early and use more angles. I am happy I was able to do it.”
The Swiss also attacked Muller’s weaker side — backhand. It worked as long as the latter kept slicing and Wawrinka had the easy put-away.
However, in the second set, Muller changed his approach. The backhand slice was replaced by a proper double-hander.
His serve — so integral for someone who chooses to finish rallies quickly by knocking off volleys — got better.
A hold to 30 followed by a break to 30 gave him a 4-2 lead.
But, he surrendered it immediately by dropping serve.
In the next game, he had Wawrinka serving at 3-4 and 0-30, but again didn’t make it count.
This proved his undoing: the failure to subject his opponent to sustained pressure.
Wawrinka earned two break points at 4-4, but the 31-year-old managed to wriggle out and stretched the match to a tie-break.
He then stayed with the Swiss till 4-4, before the top seed dished out a backhand winner, a service winner and an ace in succession to finish things off.
In another quarterfinal, Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, in a much-improved performance compared to the one in his earlier round, prevailed over Chinese Taipei’s Yen-Hsun Lu 7-6(7), 6-4.
He meets Aljaz Bedene, the qualifier, who defeated fifth Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in three sets.
Agut, the third seed, had to fight from a break and two set-points down in the first set. However, in the second, he proved to be a far better player. An early break to 2-1, followed by four of his best service games, handed him the match.
Paes-Klaasen in final
In doubles, Leander Paes, in the company of South African Raven Klaasen, reached his seventh Chennai Open final, beating the Spanish duo of Pablo Carreno Busta and Garcia-Lopez 6-3, 6-3 in under an hour.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-sports/wawrinka-overcomes-muller-meets-goffin-in-semifinals/article6773564.ece
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