Sofia: A dominant Stan Wawrinka outclassed Serbian Viktor Troicki 6-1, 7-6(7-3) to seal a semifinal spot in the Sofia Open tennis tournament here Friday evening. More importantly the match proved that the Swiss is recovering well from a knee injury.
The 32-year-old Swiss, who had surgery in August and only returned to court last month, offered fans at the Armeets Arena plenty of ‘oooh-aahh’ moments with his trademark backhand winners.
“It was a great match, I played better than I expected,” said Wawrinka, aiming to clinch his first title since winning the Geneva Open in May. I am improving every day, I’m moving better and serving better. I think my level is getting better,” said the Swiss.
Wawrinka’s semifinal opponent will be Bosnian qualifier Mirza Basic, who produced a solid display to beat Maximilian Marterer 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
In another match, World No.93 Marius Copil fired 13 aces to reach his first ATP semifinal with an impressive 6-4, 6-4 victory over third seed Gilles Muller – his third consecutive straight sets win.
The 6ft 4in Romanian lost only three points on his serve before breaking for a 5-4 lead and wrapping up the opening set, winning the next game to love. The second set was a tighter affair but Luxembourg’s Muller, one of the last of dying breed of players prepared to serve-and-volley, couldn’t find a solution to Copil’s aggression and accuracy.
Copil will face Slovakian qualifier Jozef Kovalik, who continued his fairytale week with a 7-6(7-2), 6-4 win over Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, his fifth successive victory on Bulgarian soil.
At a glance
Stan Wawrinka bt Viktor Troicki 6-1, 7-6(7-3)
Mirza Basic bt Maximilian Marterer 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Marius Copil bt Gilles Muller 6-4, 6-4
Jozef Kovalik bt Marcos Baghdatis 7-6(7-2), 6-4
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