Wawrinka Beats Federer & Wins First Masters 1000 Title & Leads Race To London by Ricky Dimon

Written by: Staff on 20th April 2014

Wawrinka Beats Federer & Wins First Masters 1000 Title & Leads Race To London by Ricky Dimon

epa04173993 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland poses with his trophy after beating Roger Federer of Switzerland in their final match of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tournament in Roquebrune Cap Martin, France, 20 April 2014. EPA/SEBASTIEN NOGIER |

Prior to the start of the 2014 campaign, Stanislas Wawrinka did not have a Grand Slam title or even a Masters 1000 winner’s trophy to his credit. Four months later, he has both.

Wawrinka, the Australian Open champion, won the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Sunday afternoon with a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 victory over fellow Swiss Roger Federer. Despite starting slow against an opponent who had dominated him in the past, Wawrinka recovered to prevail in two hours and 13 minutes. He is now 2-13 lifetime against Federer, with each one of his victories coming in Monte-Carlo.

“I did an amazing job,” Wawrinka assured. “I’m really happy after winning my first Grand Slam to win a Masters 1000 so quick. I didn’t expect to. When I came here, for me it was more like a test. I knew I was playing good tennis, but I didn’t expect to win because the draw was so strong.”

“Of course, I’m very happy for Stan,” said Federer, a three-time runner-up in Monte-Carlo who was also looking for his first title at the event. “It’s a huge win for him after winning his first Grand Slam this year, also to win his first Masters 1000. To take the opportunities when they’re there, that’s key in a tennis player’s career. So I’m very happy for him.”

Wawrinka may have even bigger and better things on his mind now, namely world No. 1. The current world No. 3 climbed to No. 1 in the 2014 ATP race to London with 3,535 points. Federer (2,920) moved up one spot to third, behind Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic (3,050). Eight-time Monte-Carlo winner Rafael Nadal, who lost to David Ferrer in the quarterfinals on Friday, fell two places to No. 4 with 2,775 points.

Wawrinka is now 7-9 lifetime in ATP finals. He had never previously won more than a single title in any year prior to this one, during which he already owns three (Chennai, Australian Open, Monte-Carlo).

Topics: Federer, Masters 1000, Monte Carlo, Novak, Ricky Dimon, Tennis News, Wawrinka

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

10sBalls_com says:

April 20, 2014 at 10:29 pm

Wawrinka Beats Federer & Wins First Masters 1000 Title & Leads Race To London by @RD_Tennistalk – http://t.co/zx51wSAh2W @stanwawrinka
RD_Tennistalk says:

April 20, 2014 at 10:51 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: Wawrinka Beats Federer & Wins First Masters 1000 Title & Leads Race To London by @RD_Tennistalk – http://t.co/zx51wSAh2W …
TennisInsideOut says:

April 23, 2014 at 9:04 am

RT @10sBalls_com: Wawrinka Beats Federer & Wins First Masters 1000 Title & Leads Race To London by @RD_Tennistalk – http://t.co/zx51wSAh2W …