Stan Wawrinka enters into Indian Wells fourth round

It was a really good match, said Wawrinka, who owns three Grand Slam titles but has won just one of the tour's coveted Masters titles.

author-image
Vikas Mehta
Updated On
New Update
Stan Wawrinka enters into Indian Wells fourth round

Stan Wawrinka

Third-seeded Stan Wawrinka continued his dominance of Philipp Kohlschreiber, rolling past the German 7-5 6-3 to reach the fourth round of the ATP Indian Wells Masters.

Wawrinka on Monday recorded his fifth victory over Kohlschreiber in as many meetings in a performance that left him cautiously encouraged about his prospects of making it past the quarter-finals in the California desert for the first time.

"It was a really good match," said Wawrinka, who owns three Grand Slam titles but has won just one of the tour's coveted Masters titles.

"The first set was not easy, for sure, but in general I'm happy with my game. I was serving well. I think I'm moving better and better and it's all positive so far."

A break in each set was enough for Wawrinka, who didn't face a break point himself as he advanced to a meeting with lucky loser Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan, who staged a remarkable rally to get past 13th-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 1-6 7-6 (7/5) 6-4. The 21-year-old from Mie saved a match point against his own serve in the 10th game of the second set.

After Nishioka forced the decisive set by winning the tiebreaker, the two traded breaks to open the third before Nishioka broke for a 2-1. Although Berdych saved one match point in the ninth game, Nishioka closed it out in the next with a love game to reach the fourth round of a Masters tournament for the first time.

"It's going to be interesting. I've never practiced with him, so it's going to be the first time we going to be against each other." 

Also Read | Australian Open: Roger Federer slams Pat Cash's claims of 'legal cheating', defends timeout

Stan Wawrinka Philipp Kohlschreiber ATP Indian Wells Masters