- Stan Wawrinka defeated Laszlo Djiri 7:6 (10:8), 3:6 and 6:4 in the second round of the ATP 1000 Championships in Rome.
- The 37-year-old from Lausanne is using his fourth match point and needs nearly 3 hours for his efforts.
- As a bonus, the world number one is waiting in the round of 16 with Novak Djokovic.
- The game will be shown live on SRF on Thursdays from around 4:30 p.m.
Stan Wawrinka (ATP 361) reached the Round of 16 with an almost typical match: it took more than 10 minutes before he secured victory over Serbian Laslo Djeri (ATP 59) with a fourth match point.
“It was a really big and magical fight with the support of the fans. At my age and after everything I’ve been through, that’s why I’m still playing,” Wawrinka said.
Of course it will be very difficult for me. But I have to play these games against the best to push myself and keep improving.
As with his first win since the comeback on Reilly Opelka, the match against Djere was also up and down. Wawrinka was the best player for two and a half sets, making up for two short breaks in the short decision of the first set and securing the group lead after 67 minutes.
First half, then back
At the start of the second round he was able to take the momentum with him. But when Wawrinka was unable to use the fifth break ball in the second round to make a potential initial decision, a break in the Lausanne player’s match followed. Djiri took a break to go 5-3 after failing to create any breakout opportunities.
Caption:
Like the old days
Stan Wawrinka demonstrated his fighting abilities against Laszlo Djiri.
Images by imago / Zuma wire
The match has since turned upside down for the 26-year-old Serb, who quickly advanced 3-1 in the decider. But Wawrinka showed his mental strength, fought back to 3:3 and was able to dominate the match again. With his third match break, he took the win after 2:48 hours.
26. The duel with Djokovic is coming
And in the round of 16 on Thursday there will now be a duel with world number one Novak Djokovic. Wawrinka and the Serbs have faced each other 25 times so far, 19 times Djokovic left the field to be the winner. However, the Lausanne native won the last two matches of the US Open in 2019 and 2016.
But Djokovic feels comfortable in the “Eternal City”: the world number one has already won the championship at Rumer Sand five times, and in 2008 he defeated Wawrinka in the final. “Of course it will be very difficult for me. But I have to play these matches against the best in order to push myself and keep improving,” the Swiss was looking forward to the fencing.