Wawrinka Breaks Up Big Four Dominance Of Masters 1000 Events, Wins Monte Carlo
Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
Stan Wawrinka is the first Masters 1000 tournament champion not named Nadal, Djokovic, Federer or Murray since the 2012 Paris Masters won by Ferrer. He did so by beating his “big brother”, Roger Federer 4-6 7-6 6-2 in just his second career win against the most famous Swiss tennis player of all time, both wins oddly enough having come in Monte Carlo.
Federer was strong early but Wawrinka was able to turn things around, and after winning the second set tiebreak in close fashion, he pulled away from a seemingly-exhausted Federer. He now has a Grand Slam and a Masters title this season, both the first of his career as he continues to cement himself as a top 5 player who can challenge the best in the game.
Wawrinka blitzed Marin Cilic, got a walkover against Nicolas Almagro, routined Milos Raonic and also David Ferrer this week as he didn’t drop a set until the final and looked much better compared to his near debacle in the Davis Cup tie for the Swiss.
Federer reached his second Masters final of the season in 3 tournaments as he defeated Radek Stepanek and Lukas Rosol in straights, then survived in 3 against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and won 7-5 6-2 over an out-of-sorts Novak Djokovic. That match was an upset, but Novak clearly wasn’t 100% and was being bothered by some sort of injury.
Djokovic’s Masters win streak was broken at 28 wins in a row with the loss.
One thing is for sure, it’s a great time to be a Swiss tennis fan.
The Bryans beat Ivan Dodig/Marcel Melo to win the doubles title and continue their dominance.
Tennis Atlantic 