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PIX: Wawrinka sets up last 8 clash with Federer

October 25, 2019

IMAGE: Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka celebrates after winning his second round match against USA's Frances Tiafoe at the Swiss Indoors tournament in St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland, on Thursday. Photograph: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters

Stan Wawrinka outlasted Frances Tiafoe over three sets to set up an all-home quarter-final against compatriot and fellow veteran Roger Federer at the Swiss Indoors on Thursday.

The 34-year-old Waewrinka, who won 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, will attempt to beat Federer for only the fourth time when they meet for their 27th clash on Friday in a dream tie for the Basel crowd.

 

Wawrinka's last win over his countryman was at the French Open quarter-finals in 2015, since when Federer, four years his senior, has beaten him seven times in a row.

IMAGE: Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas reacts during his second round match against Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis. Photograph: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters

Earlier, third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas avoided an upset defeat against Ricardas Berankis when he came from a set down.

The Lithuanian, ranked 70th, won the first set in a tiebreak before Tsitsipas took control of his service games to secure the remaining two sets comfortably for a 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4 win.

Sixth-ranked Tsitsipas faced one break point in the match and won 75% of his second-serve points on the way to his 13th quarter-final of the season.

The 21-year-old has recovered well from a poor patch of form in August, reaching the China Open final and the Shanghai Masters semi-finals.

Thiem ends Verdasco jinx to reach Vienna quarters

Home favourite and top seed Dominic Thiem beat Fernando Verdasco for the first time to reach the Vienna Open quarter-finals on Thursday.

Thiem, this year's French Open runner-up, had a rocky start as Verdasco broke in the first game of the match before taking the opening set 6-3.

However, the match changed completely in the second set as the Austrian took control. He did not lose a point on his serve and created four break points of his own, converting one to level the contest.

Thiem raced into a 4-0 lead in the third set and took the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 as he ended a run of four straight losses to the Spaniard.

"I played against him in Rio, Rome, Paris and Wimbledon. But never with this incredible support like here," said Thiem, who will face Verdasco's compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta in the last eight on Friday.

"In the first set, everyone saw that I had never won against him, that's why I was struggling. But the good service games gave me more confidence and that made me even better against his serve."

Argentina's Diego Schwartzman, seeded fifth, also clinched a quarter-final spot, beating Sam Querrey 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(5) despite the American's 23 aces. Schwartzman will next face second seed Karen Khachanov.

Source: REUTERS
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