Google News
Three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka is playing his second tournament since his comeback after a knee injury and he claimed his second win, beating Martin Klizan 4-6 6-2 6-3 in an hour and 57 minutes to reach the quarter-final in Sofia. Stan fired 15 aces and his first serve was the biggest shot of the match, dropping just seven points in 13 service games and raising his level after the first set to dominate in the rest of the match.
Krizan gave his best to stay in touch with a rival who came in Sofia to pick up some matches and form, and he saved seven out of 10 break points to challenge Stan for almost 2 hours. In the end, he made too many errors and one break of serve in the decider cost him the better result, but he is on the right track after playing just four Challenger matches in 2017 since Wimbledon, battling with an injury that almost sent him out from the Top 150.
After six easy holds on both sides Wawrinka was the first who experienced problems on serve, getting broken at love when he sent a forehand long to trail 4-3. A left-handed Slovak saved a break point in the following game with a service winner and he had a set point on the return in game nine, spraying a backhand error to keep Stan in the set for another game.
Martin blasted three service winners in game 10 and he grabbed the set when Wawrinka netted a backhand to find himself in a tough position. The Swiss improved his second serve in the rest of the match and he saved two break points in game three of the second set to stay in contention with Klizan who couldn't find the same level of tennis he produced in the opener.
Stan broke in the fourth game and he sealed the set with another break in game eight, placing a return winner for a 6-2 and the momentum before the deciding set. Martin had a chance to open it on a high note but Stan saved two break points with two winners that made him even more determined.
The deciding moment occurred in the fourth game when Klizan's forehand landed beyond the baseline and that was all Stan needed to bring the match home, losing just three points in the last three service games. The Swiss crossed the finish line with a service winner in game eight, setting the quarter-final clash with Viktor Troicki whom he beat in all eight previous encounters.
Young German Maximilian Marterer will play in his first ATP quarter-final following a close 7-5 7-6 victory over the 7th seed Joao Sousa in an hour and 40 minutes. Maximilian fired nine aces and he saved three out of four break points he faced to limit the damage in his service games.
Sousa was there all the time but he couldn't use his opportunities, wasting a set point in both sets to end his run in the second round. Joao found a nice rhythm on serve right from the start and he had the opportunity to bring the first set home with three break points he created.
Marterer fends off two of those in game four and another one in game 10, that could deliver the set for the Portuguese. This shifted the momentum to the German's side of the net and he broke at 15 in game 11 to move in front for the first time, and he closed the set with a solid hold in the next game for a 7-5.
Marterer won 11 of the last 13 points in the first set and he continued in the same style in set number two when he broke Sousa in the first game. Joao faced more troubles in the third game when he played against additional two break points, saving them to stay within one break deficit.
He served well in the remaining games and he broke at love in game eight to level the score at 4-4 and increase the drama. They reached the tie break after four good holds and Sousa had a set point at 6-5. Marterer responded in the best possible way, scoring two mini-breaks and wrapping up his win on own serve in the 14th point. Second round results:
ALSO READ: ATP Montpellier: Tsonga edges Mahut. Gasquet and Khachanov reach QF