ATP Australian Open: Vintage Stan Wawrinka tops Daniil Medvedev to reach QF

The 34-year-old former Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka is back in the last eight in Melbourne, taking down the 4th seed Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 in three hours and 25 minutes. Stan won nine points more than the US Open finalist, keeping the ball on his racquet and firing 71 winners and 64 unforced errors, leaving Daniil on a constant but not good enough 44-35 ratio. Medvedev was a tie break away from the quarter-final and a step further in comparison to the last year when he lost to Novak Djokovic in this same round, unable to take that extra step and finishing on the losing side in his sixth five-setter at Majors, still seeking the first marathon win on the biggest tennis scene. Stan converted four out of 11 break chances while Daniil seized three out of eight opportunities on the return, not enough to cross the finish line before the Swiss and stay on the title course, standing as one of the favorites alongside Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Wawrinka kicked off the encounter in the strongest possible way, dropping four points on serve in the opener and delivering two breaks for a 6-2. He broke Daniil in the fourth game when the Russian placed a backhand long, wasting two more break chances two games later and delivering that second break at love at 5-2 to secure the set in 32 minutes. Raising his level in set number two, Medvedev found the range behind the initial shot to give away only three points in his games, clinching two breaks for a 6-2 and more positive vibes ahead of the rest of the encounter. He broke error-prone Swiss in the third game and once again at 3-1 when Stan netted an easy forehand, grabbing the set with three service winners at 5-2 to level the overall score. Wawrinka couldn't do much on the return in the third set as well, getting broken in the seventh game following a backhand mistake and allowing Medvedev to wrap up the set with a service winner in the tenth game and move closer to the finish line.

With no room for errors, Stan started to play better behind the initial shot in set number four, wasting a break chance in the fourth game and entering the tie break with the pressure on his back, as he had to win it to stay alive. The more experienced player stole rival's serve twice at 1-0 to forge the advantage, taking the set when Daniil netted a backhand in the ninth point and gathering momentum ahead of the decider. There, he broke Medvedev at 15 in the first game, fended off three break chances at 2-1 and producing another break in the seventh game that sent him closer to the finish line. Serving for the victory in the eighth game, Stan forced an error from Daniil to seal the deal and advance into the last eight where he plays against Andrey Rublev or Alexander Zverev. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2t1ISmb