Stan Marches On In St. Petersburg

Two years ago, Stan Wawrinka made the final of the St. Petersburg Open on his debut. On Monday, Wawrinka made a good start toward going one step further in his second appearance at the tournament.

Wawrinka defeated Slovenian Aljaz Bedene 7-5, 7-6(5) to reach the second round at the ATP World Tour 250-level event, setting a tantalising second-round match against No. 4 seed Karen Khachanov.

“It was a tough match. I think in general the level was good. For sure, really tough,” Wawrinka said. “I think I fought well. It’s never easy in the first match to really feel the conditions, especially when you don’t really practise on the court. So I’m happy with a great victory, I think a good battle and a good level.”

Wawrinka fell to No. 263 in the ATP Rankings on 11 June, his lowest standing since August of 2003. But he is already back inside the Top 100 at No. 88 and in good form, winning six of his past eight matches. Now, the former World No. 3 will try to pursue his first title since last year’s Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open in May.

The 33-year-old had won two of his three previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against Bedene, with each of those clashes coming in Chennai. And while he was broken in his third service game, the Swiss battled back to triumph after one hour and 48 minutes, saving four of five break points held against him.

He will play Khachanov for the first time with a spot in the quarter-finals on the line. It will be a tough test for Wawrinka, as Khachanov has been playing some of the best tennis of his young career. The Russian reached the semi-finals at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, and pushed World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in a four-set thriller at the US Open that took longer than four hours.

“It’s going to be an interesting match,” Wawrinka said. “He’s playing at home, with the crowd for him. He’s a young player, he’s improved a lot. He’s playing well. He played a great US Open. He’s a great guy, also, we know each other well, so it’s going to be interesting. I’m happy to play against him. I know it’s going to be a tough match, but I’m going to try to enjoy.”

In other main draw action, 2012 champion Martin Klizan beat home favourite Evgeny Donskoy 6-4, 6-4 in 90 minutes. The Slovakian remains undefeated in St. Petersburg, with just one of his six matches going to a deciding set. Klizan, who broke serve five times, will next face No. 2 seed Fabio Fognini in a rematch of the 2012 final.

Did You Know?
Damir Dzumhur opens play on Centre Court Tuesday, competing against qualifier Lucas Miedler. One year ago, Dzumhur earned his maiden ATP World Tour title in St. Petersburg, and he now owns three tour-level trophies.