US Open 2018: Stan Wawrinka extends winning run at Arthur Ashe Stadium with victory over Grigor Dimitrov
Wawrinka extended his winning run with an emphatic 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 victory over Dimitrov in a repeat of his first-round defeat of the Bulgarian at Wimbledon last month
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Your support makes all the difference.The last time Stan Wawrinka competed here at the US Open, in 2016, he beat Novak Djokovic in the final to claim his third Grand Slam title.
Returning to Flushing Meadows after missing last year’s tournament because of a knee injury, Wawrinka extended his winning run in Arthur Ashe Stadium with an emphatic 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 victory over Grigor Dimitrov in a repeat of his first-round defeat of the Bulgarian at Wimbledon last month.
Wawrinka’s return to competition following surgery has had its setbacks and the 33-year-old Swiss, now ranked No 101 in the world, needed a wild card to compete here, but he was always going to be the dangerous floater that the top names in the draw would have been keen to avoid.
It was Dimitrov’s misfortune to run into Wawrinka for the second Grand Slam tournament in a row. The world No 8 has had a moderate year by his standards. Since losing to Kyle Edmund in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January and then losing to Roger Federer in the final in Rotterdam the following month, he has not reached a final in 12 subsequent tournaments.
Wawrinka served well, dropping his serve only once, and broke Dimitrov five times. From 3-3 in the first set Wawrinka won seven games in a row to take the opening set and put himself in charge of the second. Dimitrov offered sterner resistance in the third set but at 5-5 Wawrinka broke with a forehand winner and then served out for victory, completing the job with an ace.
“It was a great start,” Wawrinka said afterwards. “In general I’m feeling really good. I’m feeling good on the practice court and I’m happy with where I am right now.”
He added: “For sure it was a tough match. I knew it would be really difficult to play Grigor in the first round. You need to be ready from the first point.”
John Isner and Jack Sock, the No 11 and No 18 seeds respectively, gave home supporters some cheer with straight-sets victories. Isner beat Bradley Klahn 7-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Sock beat Guido Andreozzi 6-0, 7-6, 6-2. Roberto Bautista Agut, the No 19 seed, was beaten 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 by Australia’s Jason Kubler.
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