Warinka's Kryptonite? Stan Says Not So Fast!

Stan Wawrinka has long struggled against Mikhail Kukushkin, and that was the case once again on Wednesday. But this time, the former World No. 3 found a way to win at the Murray River Open.

The top seed rallied past the Kazakhstani 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 after one hour and 56 minutes to reach the Round of 16 at the ATP 250. Wawrinka now leads the pair's ATP Head2Head series 3-2.

The righties had not met since 2014 Basel, where Kukushkin triumphed in straight sets. But the World No. 90's game again proved a menace for the Swiss. Kukushkin plays with far less spin compared to the rest of the ATP Tour, and he has a deadly two-handed backhand down the line that tails away from opponents. 

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Wawrinka never panicked, though, and he saved four of the five break points he faced. The 35-year-old hit 14 aces and won 81 per cent of his first-serve points in his first match of the season. 

The World No. 18 will next play Australian Alex Bolt, who battled past American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-7(7), 7-5 after two hours and 29 minutes. 

Bolt wrote a My Point essay for ATPTour.com about when he quit tennis, dabbled in construction work and his out-of-the-box journey back into the sport. He has long performed well in Australia, reaching the third round of the Australian Open in 2019 and the second round last year. Another Aussie earned a big win, as James Duckworth ousted seventh seed Ugo Humbert 7-6(6), 6-4.

Eighth seed Daniel Evans progressed in straight sets, beating Portugal’s Pedro Sousa 6-3, 7-5. The Brit will next play American Marcos Giron, who upset 10th seed Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-4

Evans had the best season of his career in 2020, climbing to a career-high No. 28 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. The 30-year-old is pursuing his first ATP Tour title this week.

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/3tmkrtX