Wawrinka sets Granollers quarter final

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Wawrinka sets Granollers quarter final

Stanislas Wawrinka has secured a berth into the Gstaad quarter finals when the local favorite beat Peter Luczak of Australia in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5 to meet Marcel Granollers in the next term.

Wawrinka fired nine aces past his opponent whom he also broke three times before prevailing in nearly one hour and a half. The second seed Swiss won 74 percent of service points and committed four double faults, compared to the Aussie who won just 56 percent of his serves and converted a break of two chances.

Wawrinka had previously bee favored by a BYE, while Luczak was following a three-set win grabbed in the first term against another crowd favorite Alexander Sadecky. His next opponent Granollers follows a much easier win as the Spaniard beat Igor Andreev 6-1, 6-3 to set his third meeting with the Swiss. Granollers converted all his four break point opportunities, managing at the same time to win 69 percent of service points and hit three aces.

As for the Russian, he finished the game with a 31 return percentage and a 50 first serve one. He was also unable to convert any of the three break point chances created in the opener. The head to head series between Granollers and the world number 17 Wawrinka have gone 1-1, with the last victory belonging to the Spaniard who defeated the 26-year-old at the 2011 Miami Masters. Wawrinka’s only win over the world number 45 comes from last year when he beat the Spaniard at the Madrid Masters.

Concerning the first half of the draw, Fernando Verdasco, who has started the tournament as a fourth seed beat Frederico Gil in two sets, 6-3, 6-2 to set a first season meeting with Julien Benneteau of France. The Spaniard managed to build himself 14 break point opportunities against the Portuguese, but only converted four, compared to his opponent whose all five break points were denied by Verdasco.

Gil, who had previously defeated Joao Souza, finished the game with two double faults, a 68 first serve percentage, winning just 53 points on service. As for the Spaniard, he won 67 percent of service points, and had a much better return percentage of 47, compared to Gil’s 33. His next opponent Benneteau ousted Matthias Bachinger in straight similar sets, 6-4, 6-4.

The Frenchman fired just a couple of aces and conceded nine as he broke the German three times, winning at the same time 68 percent of service points. Bachinger finished the game with a 60 first serve percentage, winning 60 percent of service points. World number 111 Benneteau will meet the 20^th ranked Verdasco for the third time, the head to head series between the two going 2-0 to the Spaniard who last beat him at the 2010 Monte Carlo Masters. His first win over the 29-year-old dates from the 2006 New Haven tournament.

Third favorite Mikhail Youzhny eased past Denis Istomin 6-3, 6-2 to face Andreas Haider Maruer of Austria in the quarter finals. The Russian, who had previously bee favored by a BYE, needed nearly one hour to get rid of the Uzbek whom he broke four times. Youzhny won 68 percent of service points and had a 52 return percentage, compared to his opponent who came up with two double faults, a 32 return percentage and just one break.

Russian’s next opponent Maurer beat Santiago Giraldo 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 breaking the Colombian three times and winning 65 percent of service points. Giraldo could only convert two break points of six tries, both of them coming in the opener. Unfortunately for him, a late comeback and a consistent play form Maurer saw him concede the last two sets and pack from the Swiss event earlier than expected.

Wolrd number 70 Maurer will meet the 14^th ranked Youzhny for the first time ever, but will start the quarter final as second favorite, the winner between the two being expected to meet either Wawrinka or Granollers. Top seed Nicolas Almagro, winner of three titles this season in Costa do Sauipe, Buenos Aires and Nice, is to make his debut against Jarkko Nieminen who follows a 7-5, 6-2 win over Romania’s and former defending champion Victor Hanescu.

Finally, Feliciano Lopez and Daniel Gimeno have set an all Spanish meeting as both of them grabbed three-set wins in the previous round. Lopez follows a 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 win against Michael Lammer of Switzerland, while his next opponent edged Steve Darcis of Belgium 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.

Gstaad Prize Money and points:

Winner – 72,600 euro and 250 points ATP

Runner-up – 38,200 euro and 150 points ATP

Semi finalist – 20,700 euro and 90 points ATP

Quarter finalist – 11,800 euro and 45 points ATP

R16 – 6,940 euro and 20 points ATP

R32 – 4,120 euro and zero points

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