|
Stan Wawrinka confirmed yesterday that he is fit and ready for the final leg of the ATP season, starting with the Masters 1000 event in Canada. |
Wawrinka was to have played at this week’s Swiss Open in Gstaad.
But he reluctantly pleaded mental fatigue after his loss in the Wimbledon quarter-finals to former Gstaad headliner Roger Federer.
In addition, the Australian Open winner recovered from illness just prior to the Wimbledon start and due to weather scheduling had to play three days in succession during the second half.
But the rested, relaxed 29-year-old, who paid a day visit to sunny Gstaad yesterday said that he is keen for a return to competition.
In addition to the back-to back Masters in Toronto and Cincinnati, Switzerland face Italy in a Davis Cup semi-final in Geneva in September with Federer and Wawrinka both committed.
“I need to be ready for the last few months of the season,” said Wawrinka. “It’s a long series and it will be tough for sure. It will be another big challenge.”
He added: “I’m trying to be fit and to do everything possible not to be injured.
“I’ve had some rest and that’s important. I also did some work with my fitness trainer but not a lot on court just yet. I started tennis only a few days ago. I’ll leave next week for Toronto.”
After constructing the season of his life from January to July, the Swiss admits matching his previous performance will be difficult, if not impossible.
“It will be tough to do better than that for me, but we’ll see. I’m taking it step-by-step in each tournament. I want to be ready for event by event.
“If my level is there, I can have some good results.”
In Wawrinka’s Gstaad absence, holder Mikhail Youzhny has taken the top seeding, with the Russian hoping to win back-to-back titles for the first time.
In the quarter-finals, Argentine Juan Monaco reached the semi’s as he defeated two-time champion Thomaz Bellucci 7-6 (7/1), 6-1.
Isner survives scare to reach Atlanta quarters
Top seed and defending champion John Isner saved two match points en route to a three-set victory over Robby Ginepri on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP Atlanta Open.
America’s Isner, ranked 12th in the world, was playing his first match of the tournament after enjoying a first-round bye, and nearly fell at the first hurdle.
Ginepri had Isner on the ropes with a 5-4 lead in the third set, but Isner used his big serve to save two match points and level the set at 5-5.
He broke Ginepri in the next game and went on to claim a 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 victory.
Second-seeded South African Kevin Anderson, beaten by Isner in last year’s final, won’t get a chance to avenge that defeat after falling 6-4, 7-5 to Dutch lucky loser Thiemo De Bakker.
The 142nd-ranked De Bakker converted three of his 13 break chances against world number 17 Anderson to gain the victory in the rain-disrupted match.
“I felt a step behind the whole match,” said Anderson. “I thought (De Bakker) played well, hit the ball quite big. I was disappointed with how I played today.”
De Bakker, who delivered his fourth ace of the contest on match point, said the victory proved he can play against the game’s top players.
“My goal is to play them more and more often and also to improve my level of play,” he said.
In the quarter-finals, De Bakker will play Germany’s Benjamin Becker, who ousted seventh-seeded Lu Yen-Hsun 6-4, 6-3.
Isner next faces eighth-seeded Australian Marinko Matosevic, who reached his fifth quarter-final of 2014 when he defeated American Tim Smyczek 6-4, 7-5 in 95 minutes, breaking Smyczek five times.
