Veteran Stan Wawrinka collected his first top-10 win since Cincinnati last year by upsetting Andrey Rublev to reach the Stockholm semi-finals.
Wawrinka, giving away 12 years and 210 places in the rankings to his opponent, won 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5) in an hour and 53 minutes, hitting 33 winners and putting down 14 aces along the way.
His reward is a semi-final showdown with American Tommy Paul.
Paul, seeded sixth, overcame Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6 (11-9) 6-2 in an hour and 44 minutes, hitting 37 winners and closing out the match with his 10th ace.
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Hugo Gaston somehow hit this incredible behind the back winner against Alex de Minaur at the European Open
“The key was to stay focused and positive with myself,” said Wawrinka. “Andrey is such an amazing player, but I was feeling good on the court, I was moving well. I could start to dictate a little bit, and with so much support from the crowd, it is easier to fight on the court.”
By reaching the last four for the first time in four Stockholm appearances, the 39-year-old Wawrinka became the third-oldest semi-finalist in ATP Tour history (since 1990), behind Jimmy Connors and Ivo Karlovic.
“I cannot change my age, but most important for me is that when I enter the court, I always try to fight,” said Wawrinka.
“I try to improve and enjoy what I am doing. The reason I keep going is to play matches like this, with so many people giving me good energy on the court, and I’m super happy to have the chance to play one more match tomorrow.”
Daria Kasatkina saved two match points in the tie-breaker to defeat Yulia Putintseva 6-4 1-6 7-6 to reach the semi-finals of the Ningbo Open in China.
Kasatkina lost the numbers game to Putinteseva, winning nine fewer points, serving up eight double faults, committing more unforced errors and ringing up fewer winners.
But she came through in the clutch, coming back from 4-2 down in the third set and 6-4 in the tie-breaker of the two-hour, 41-minute match.
“I didn’t want three sets, for sure,” said Kasatkina. “But I was expecting something like that, because always when I play against Yulia something like that happens.
“I feel the whole match I was always down in the score, but I knew I would have a chance to come back, and I did. Tennis is like that. If you fight, 99 per cent of the time you get your chance. I thought the level was pretty high – we fought our butts off through this match.”
Paula Badosa awaits after the Spaniard won 6-3 6-2 against Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Mirra Andreeva, 17, advanced when Czech Barbora Krejcikova retired down 7-6 (7-5) 3-2 at the Japan Open.
Qualifier Aoi Ito’s remarkable run in her debut WTA Tour event continued with a 6-7 (8-10) 6-2 6-3 win over Eva Lys to reach the semi-finals in Osaka.
Ito will take on Kimberly Birrell of Australia, who defeated Sara Saito 7-5 6-4.
The other semi-final will be a match between Diane Parry, the seventh seed, and Suzan Lamens.
Parry defeated Clara Tauson of Denmark 6-3 1-6 6-3 in two hours, 17 minutes while Lamens needed six minutes longer to come from behind to top Ana Bogdan of Romania 4-6 6-3 6-3.
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis in October?
- Almaty Open, Kazakhstan – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
- Stockholm Open, Sweden – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
- European Open, Antwerp – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
- Japan Open, Osaka – WTA 250 (October 14-20)
- Ningbo Open, China – WTA 500 (October 14-20)
- Erste Bank Open, Vienna – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
- Swiss Indoors, Basel – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
- Guangzhou Open, China – WTA 250 (October 21-27)
- Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis, Tokyo – WTA 500 (October 21-27)
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
