Rotterdam: Stan Wawrinka, seeking his first title since undergoing two knee surgeries in 2017, subdued Canadian 10th seed Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 7-6(7-4) here Friday to set up an intriguing semifinal clash with top seed Kei Nishikori at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.
The Swiss wildcard broke for a 5-4 lead in the opening set and sealed the win in a well-mastered tie-break. “Physically I feel really good, and I’m moving and feeling better match after match,” said Wawrinka. “Tonight was a tough match. I had to really fight at the end. I was a bit nervous. We had some long rallies and it’s good to see that I can keep being there, mentally, physically.”
Nishikori took a step closer to claiming his second title of the year by defeating Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 6-2.
Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev dismantled Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 6-2. He will face another Frenchman in Gael Monfils, who beat Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-2.
Reuters
