Chennai, Jan 7: Defending champion and top seed Stanislas Wawrinka scored a clinical 6-1, 6-4 win over Borna Coric of Croatia to progress to the men’s singles quarterfinals at the ATP Chennai Open tennis tournament here Wednesday. Title favourite Wawrinka needed just 71 minutes to brush aside 18-year-old Coric, ranked 95.
The reigning Australian Open joined fourth seed David Goffin of Belgium, Gilles Muller of Luxembourg and Austria’s Andrea Haider-Maurer in the quarterfinals.
Wawrinka was so focused that he displayed his skills, scoring winners at will from the word go. The manner in which he mixed his powerful backhand and forehands were a treat for the crowd.
Wawrinka said he was happy about winning the first match of the season. “I started playing aggressively in the first set. But in the second set, Coric came back well by serving better. He is young and definitely he could improve,” said the World No. 4 who next plays Goffin.
Earlier, Goffin became the first player to enter the quarterfinals by getting past Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania. Goffin, ranked 22, had to bring in his experience especially in the tie-breaker of the deciding set before winning 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (7-1) to advance in the USD 450,000 event.
Eighth seed Muller put paid to the aspirations of 18 year-old Elias Ymer, a Swedish player of Ethiopian descent, by scoring a 6-4, 6-3 win 70 minutes.
In a doubles match on the side court, India’s Purav Raja and his Canadian partner Adil Shamasdin had an easy time against Slovakia’s Aljaz Bedene and Dammir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They won 6-1, 6-2 in just 51 minutes.
In a late night match Tuesday Leander Paes, teaming up with South African Ravfen Klaasen notched ing up a comfortable 6-4, 6-4 victory over Andrea Haider Maurer and Lukas Lacko in 75 minutes.
PTI
