LATEST US OPEN TENNIS NEWS – STAN WAWRINKA CONQUERS KEVIN ANDERSON

Written by: Staff on 10th September 2015

LATEST US OPEN TENNIS NEWS - STAN WAWRINKA CONQUERS KEVIN ANDERSON

epa04923038 Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland reacts as he plays Kevin Anderson of South Africa during their quarterfinals match on the tenth day of the 2015 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 09 September 2015. The US Open runs through 13 September, which is a return to a 14-day schedule. EPA/JASON SZENES |

Stan Wawrinka overcame Kevin Anderson’s serving power and scored a 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 win on Wednesday at the US Open. Wawrinka improved to 5-6 in Grand Slam quarter-finals and reached the semi-finals of a tour-level event for the first time since going all the way at Roland Garros this spring.

Wawrinka’s next opponent will be compatriot Roger Federer. Federer holds a 16-3 lead in the rivalry and has won every hard-court matchup, but Wawrinka came out on top in their most recent meeting (2015 Roland Garros quarter-finals).

“I know I only have two matches left but it’s a big challenge ahead of me,” said Wawrinka, who will contest his second US Open semi-final (2013). “I’m far away from thinking about the trophy. I think you should only think about the trophy when you are in the final. Not before.”

Recent history did not favour Wawrinka coming into the quarter-finals against Anderson. The No. 15 seed had bested the two-time Grand Slam champion in their past four FedEx ATP Head2Head matchups. He was also in good form, having defeated No. 3 seed Andy Murray en route to his first Grand Slam quarter-finals.

“It was the best match of the tournament for me,” said Wawrinka. “I was really happy with the way I played. I was trying to be really aggressive on the return.”

The 6’8” South African averaged 125mph on his first serve in the first two sets, but Wawrinka strung together enough quality returns, including an audacious half-volley block a la Federer, to secure a commanding lead after 82 minutes. The Swiss went two-for-five on break opportunities while saving the lone break point faced.

In the 25-minute-long third set, Wawrinka raised his level of play (eight winners, one unforced error) while Anderson faltered (two winners, 12 unforced errors).

“It obviously wasn’t meant to be today,” said Anderson. “Stan didn’t make it easy. He was taking time away from me. He was swinging out, and I was just a step slow. Wasn’t going to bode well. I needed to be on top of my game today. [Stan] stuck to his guns and did what he needed to do.”

Looking forward to the semi-finals, Wawrinka believes he has the game to defeat Federer for the first time in a hard-court match.

“[I will try] to play my game, to play really aggressive,” said the World No. 5. “I’ll try to push him back. I will have to play really, really fast, to be the aggressive player, if I want to have a chance to beat him.

“I know I can finish by winning the tournament, but I’m really far from that right now,” added Wawrinka. “I’m going to enjoy first tonight and the quarter-final, because it was a great performance for me. Then tomorrow I will start to be ready for the semi-finals against Roger.”

( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/us-open-2015-wawrinka-blasts-into-semi-finals-over-anderson )

Topics: 2015 U.S. Open, Atp World Tour, Flushing Meadows, Kevin Anderson, sports news, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

September 10, 2015 at 9:33 am

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