Wawrinka Battles To Exact Revenge On Paire

Third seed Stan Wawrinka earned revenge on Benoit Paire on Wednesday, beating the Frenchman 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 to advance to the third round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. The Swiss No. 1 had fallen to the 28-year-old Paire in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open last week.

But Wawrinka locked down in decider of their second-round match in Rome, winning 71 per cent of his service points and not facing a break point. He converted his lone break point at 1-0.

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Wawrinka improves to 8-3 against Paire in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, and the victory may boost the 32 year old’s confidence as he looks to return to the Rome title match (2008) and find his footing on the clay. Before falling in the second round in Madrid, the Lausanne native reached the third round at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters (l. to Cuevas).

Wawrinka, who improved to 22-11 in Rome, will meet American John Isner in the third round. The 6’10” Isner leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-1, but the two haven’t faced off since 2011.