By Tennis Now | Friday, February 15, 2019
Stan Wawrinka defeated Denis Shapovalov, 6-3, 7-6 (4), reaching the Rotterdam semifinals for the first time since 2015 when he took the title.
Photo credit: @ABNAMROWTT
A resurgent Stan Wawrinka continues his Rotterdam roll.
Wawrinka fended off a late fight back from Denis Shapovalov, 6-3, 7-6 (4), to reach the Rotterdam final four.
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The 68th-ranked Wawrinka has not dropped a set powering into his first semifinal since St. Petersburg last September.
The 2015 champion will face either top-seeded Kei Nishikori, who is off to a career-best 10-1 start to the season, or Marton Fucsovics for a spot in Sunday's final.
Today's quarterfinal was a rematch of the 2018 Tokyo round of 16, which Shapovalov won 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Wawrinka played nearly pristine tennis for a set-and-a-half today and was one point from a 6-3, 5-1 lead before the youngest man in the ATP Top 100 found his range and rallied from a double break down to force the tie break.
Hitting heavy drives, Wawrinka played with more clarity committing half as many unforced errors (16 o 32) as his 19-year-old opponent.
Shapovalov saved a pair of break points in the third game, holding for 2-1.
The three-time Grand Slam champion strung three love holds together leveling at 4-all then applied pressure to the Canadian's serve.
Staring down another break point, Shapovalov tried attacking the Swiss' vaunted one-handed backhand, but Wawrinka was waiting and ripped a beautiful one-handed pass down the line breaking for 5-4 with a spirited come on!"
The sturdy Swiss, who underwent a pair of left knee surgeries back in 2017, was moving fluidly and covering the court quickly as he closed out the opening set at 30.
Serving with more command, Wawrinka won 20 of 24 service points in the opening set, while Shapovalov won just two of seven second-serve points in the set.
The 10th-seeded Canadian is capable of brilliant shot-making, but sustaining consistency is still a challenge. Shapovalov played his sloppiest game of the match dumping his fourth double fault of the day to donate the love break to open the second set.
Striking with clean conviction, Wawrinka had committed just four unforced errors stamping another love hold for a 3-1 second-set lead.
Dumping two more double faults, Shapovalov slammed his Yonex stick to the court donating the second break of the set and a 4-1 lead. By then, the Canadian had committed 22 unforced errors and looked out of sorts.
The 33-year-old Swiss was a point away from forging a 5-1 lead, but Shapovalov strung together a series of proactive points nudging a forehand drop shot to break back.
Shapovalov's first break sparked a surge that saw him catch fire scoring some blistering drives to score his second straight break and level after 10 games. The Canadian saved a couple of break points edging ahead for 6-5 before Wawrinka forced the tie breaker.
A high, heavy return set up Wawrinka's whipping forehand down the line as he earned the first mini-break for a 4-2 tie break lead. Shapovalov, who was so sharp forcing the breaker, hit another sloppy stretch committing a pair of errors to face three match points.
Wawrinka sealed an 89-minute victory permitting only seven points on first serve.
Earlier, red-hot Russian Daniil Medvedev mauled Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-4, 6-2, scoring his seventh straight victory.
The Sofia champion raised his 2019 record to 14-2. Continuing his quest for a fifth career title, Medvedev meets Gael Monfils for a place in the final.