Wawrinka Inflicts Agonising Defeat On Dimitrov

Stan Wawrinka took Grigor Dimitrov on a rollercoaster ride from heartbreak to hope and back to heartbreak during a dramatic 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(4) win at the Western & Southern Open Tuesday in Cincinnati.

After playing exceptional tennis to take the first set, Dimitrov slumped to find himself down 1-5 in the third.  But chasing just his second win since Roland Garros, Dimitrov turned the match on its head by clawing back the double break – saving two match points in the process – to draw level at 5-all.

Then, things got even stranger. Wawrinka broke but was unable to serve out the match, Dimitrov breaking for a third consecutive time - courtesy of a spectacular chase of a drop shot and topspin forehand winner down the line.

But Wawrinka raced to a 4/0 lead in the tie-break and despite handing back two mini-breaks, he steadied to take the match, closing out the tie-break with 138 mph ace.

“It helps a little bit to have won the past few matches against him, but before that he was beating me most of the time. I knew I could expect a tough match,” said Wawrinka. “It’s a first round and you never play your best tennis, but the most important thing is to fight. I’m happy with the win.”

In a battle of two of the best one-handed backhands in the business, Dimitrov had the edge in extended rallies, topping Wawrinka 29-26 in rallies of five to nine shots, and 17-8 in rallies of 10 shots or more.

But most matches are won by the player who dominates the shorter points, and that is where Wawrinka stood out, claiming a 75-52 edge in points under five shots. Those included 10 double faults by his opponent.