Wawrinka Goes For Career First In St. Petersburg

Stan Wawrinka will try to win a career-best fifth ATP World Tour title of the season on Sunday when he faces #NextGen player Alexander Zverev in the St. Petersburg Open final. The top seed advanced to his fifth final of the year and 25^th of his career by beating Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(8), 6-2 in one hour and 51 minutes on Saturday.

The Swiss saved two set points in the first set before claiming the 18-point tie-break. He broke to start the second set and again at 4-2 to take his 10^th victory in a row. Wawrinka also improved to a perfect 8-0 in sets in St. Petersburg.

Both players fought for every big point in the semi-final. Wawrinka saved all three break points; Bautista Agut erased seven of nine faced.

Last season, Wawrinka also won four titles but never earned the chance to go for a fifth. He’ll arrive confident on Sunday. He’s 11-0 in his past 11 finals, dating back to his 2014 title in Chennai (d. Roger-Vasselin). The last time Wawrinka lost in a final was more than three years ago: ‘s-Hertogenbosch in June 2013 against Frenchman Nicolas Mahut.

Zverev, however, also hasn’t lost a set in St. Petersburg. The 6’6”, 19 year old will be going for his first title and will be playing in the third final of his season and career. The two will be meeting for the first time.