Former champion Stan Wawrinka is up and operating on the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. The Swiss star earned a comeback victory in opposition to Tallon Griekspoor on Monday, when he overcame the Dutchman 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to succeed in the second spherical.
Competing in entrance of a packed crowd on Court Rainier III, the 38-year-old Wawrinka rolled again the years to earn his twenty second win on the ATP Masters 1000 occasion. The former World No. 3 struck 35 winners and sealed victory on his sixth match level to advance after two hours and 25 minutes.
“It was really important to stay calm with myself,” Wawrinka mentioned. “In the first round you need to find your game. The first match on clay is never easy against a good player. I am happy to get through. It was important to fight until the end.”
Wawrinka, who gained the title within the Principality in 2014, levelled his ATP Head2Headvert sequence in opposition to Griekspoor at 1-1. The wild card will subsequent play eighth-seeded American Taylor Fritz.
“He is an amazing player,” Wawrinka mentioned on Fritz. “He is Top 10, been winning a lot of matches. Winning a lot of tournaments. He is very dangerous on many surfaces.”
Wawrinka arrived in Monte-Carlo off the again of a run to the fourth spherical in Indian Wells, the place he earned victory in opposition to Top 10 star Holger Rune. Wawrinka has lifted seven of his 16 tour-level trophies on clay, together with Roland Garros in 2015.
In different motion, Francisco Cerundolo overcame World no. 14 Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 to earn the seventh Top 20 win of his profession.
The Argentine gained 90 per cent (26/29) of his first-serve factors and struck 24 winners to advance after 72 minutes, levelling his ATP Head2Headvert sequence in opposition to Norrie at 1-1. The 24-year-old will subsequent play Matteo Berrettini or Maxime Cressy.
Cerundolo, who lifted his solely tour-level title on clay in Bastad final season, arrived in Monte-Carlo off the again of a run to the quarter-finals in Miami, the place he beat Top 10 star Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Source web site: www.atptour.com
