Stan Wawrinka shook off any remnants of the rust his body may have accumulated during the off-season with a straight sets demolition of Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in the second round of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex yesterday.
The top seed, who was given a first-round bye, gave an early glimpse of his resolve to secure a top-10 world ranking at the end of the year with a gutsy effort that has pretty much defined both his game and character since turning pro at the age of 17 in 2002.
“I’m really happy with the first match, first match of the season, after a few months without playing matches. I think the level was good. I was really focused, moving well also. Yeah, so I’m happy with the match, really happy,” Wawrinka said after his 87-minute 6-3, 6-4 victory.
The three-time Grand Slam champion said it doesn’t make much of a difference to him psychologically that he has got the first obstacle out of the way in the quest for the title.
“I think my focus is the same in every match I play. For sure the first match is always a bit different. But, again, as I say, I’ve been practising well. I arrived early here to be ready for the first match. Today I played well, so now I’m happy to play doubles tomorrow again and then the next match in singles.”
Wawrinka, who is now ranked 15th, thus made it 7-0 against Chardy. Had this been cricket, Chardy would be called his ‘bunny’, and he was asked if the Frenchman was his “favourite” opponent on the Tour.
“Not one of my favourite, but it’s probably one against who I have the best record,” smiled Wawrinka.
“But he’s always difficult player to play. You know, I’m happy to have won all those matches, but it’s always been difficult. You always have to find a way. He’s serving well.
“But, again, I think today I played well. I was moving well, I was serving well, and finding the right things to do.”
The Swiss began well, winning the first game of the match and then breaking Chardy in the very next with a classic down-the-line backhand shot before retaining his serve for a 3-0 lead.
It could have been 4-0 soon but perhaps his concentration was broken by a cat that ran across the court and hid between the advertising boards on centre court.
The players joined the umpire and other staff to look for the feline offender, the search lasting a little over two minutes, with Wawrinka even rolling the ball in the presumed direction of the cat.
The cat probably disappeared on its own but when play resumed, Wawrinka missed two break points to allow Chardy win his first game.
“You were trying to give the ball to the cat?” Wawrinka was asked.
“I was trying to make him leave the court nicely,” he said.
Wawrinka served out the set, with Chardy missing two break points.
The Frenchman began the second set in style, winning the first game at love and breaking Wawrinka immediately and then keeping his serve for a 3-0 lead.
It was against the flow of the game, with Wawrinka appearing a bit tardy, sending shots long and wide.
But then Wawrinka’s famed grit kicked in.
“Yeah, I was thinking it’s just a matter of one break. I was trying to be back, trying to make him play more, to be a bit more aggressive, to move well. And I think I started to play much better, much more aggressive,” Wawrinka said.
It paid off as Wawrinka won the fourth game and secured a break of his own in the fifth to inch close. In the fifth game he broke Chardy and from there it was all plain sailing.
Wawrinka will next clash with Slovenian Aljaz Bedene, who advanced to the last-8 with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Alexander Bublik, the Kazakh who had upset seventh seeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino on Monday.
Wawrinka will be meeting Bedene for the fifth time, of which four were in the opening week of the season. They met three straight years in Chennai, splitting their first two meetings in the 2013-14 quarter-finals before Wawrinka triumphed in the 2015 final.
Meanwhile, in the first round yesterday, Hungarian qualifier Marton Fucsovics shocked eighth-seeded American Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Fifth seed Laslo Djere closed out a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Italian Lorenzo Sonego, and Turkish wild card Cem Ilkel ousted Ricardas Berankis 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
“Taifoe is a difficult player to play against but I hung around for the win,” said Fucsovics. “I am happy with the first win, let’s see how it goes,” the Hungarian, whose only title has come on clay in Geneva in 2018, added.
RESULTS
Singles (2nd Round)
1-Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) bt Jeremy Chardy (FRA) 6-3, 6-4; Aljaz Bedene (SLO) bt Alexander Bublik (KAZ) 6-3, 7-5.
1st Round: WC-Cem Ilkel (TUR) bt Ricardas Berankis (LTU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2; Q-Marton Fucsovics (HUN) bt
8-Frances Tiafoe (USA) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4; 5-Laslo Djere (SRB) bt Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2; Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) bt WC-Malek Jaziri (TUN) 6-0, 6-3.
Doubles (2nd Round)
Frederik Nielsen (DEN) & Tim Puetz (GER) bt Marcelo Demoliner (BRA) & Matwe Middelkoop (NED) 7-6 (10), 6-7, 10-7; Ken Skupski & Neil Skupski (GBR) bt Laslo Djere (SRB) & Aljaz Bedene (SLO) 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 10-5.
Today’s Order of Play
Centre Court (starts at 3:30pm)
Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) vs 2-Andrey Rublev (RUS)
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs 6-Filip Krajinovic (SRB)
Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB) vs 3-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)
4-Milos Raonic (CAN) vs Q-Corentin Moutet (FRA)
Court 1 (starts at 3:30pm)
n Frances Tiafor (USA)/Stan Wawrinka (CAN) vs 3-Rohan Bopanna (IND)/Wesley Koolhof (NED)
Q-Marton Fucsovics (HUN) vs WC-Cem Ilkel (TUR)
5-Laslo Djere (SRB) vs Marco Cecchinato (ITA) or Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA)
Court 2 (starts at 3:30pm)
Ken Skupski (GBR)/Neal Skupski (GBR) vs Henri Kontinen (FIN)/Franko Skugor (CRO)
Jeremy Chard (FRA)/Fabrice Martin (FRA) or Divij Sharan (IND)/Artem Sitak (NZL) vs Luke Bambridge (GBR)/Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)
Mate Pavic (CRO)/Bruno Soares (BRA) or Egor Gerasimov (BLR)/Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) vs Frederik Nielsen (DEN)/Tim Puetz (GER)
Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland returns during the Qatar ExxonMobil Open second round match against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy (not pictured) at Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha yesterday. PICTURES: Noushad Thekkayil
