Third seed Stan Wawrinka is refusing to get ahead of himself as he eased into the fourth round at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
The US Open champion required required just 78 minutes to dismiss Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 6-3, in the sizzling Californian heat. Throughout the encounter, Wawrinka remained supreme on his serve as he won 75% of his service points and faced no break points. Furthermore, the Swiss world No.3 also fired 19 winners and benefited heavily from his opponents 23 unforced errors.
“It was a really good match. I’m very happy, in general. First set was not easy, for sure, all the match, but in general I’m happy with my game.” Said Wawrinka.
Wawrinka’s Indian Wells surge places him within touching distance of a quarter-final place, his best ever result achieved at the tournament. The passage into the last eight has been eased after 13th seed Tomas Berdych crashed out to rising star Yoshihito Nishioka. The Japanese 21-year-old, who is Wawrinka’s next opponent, is currently at a ranking best of 70th in the world.
“It’s going to be interesting. I never practice with him, so it’s going to be the first time we going to be against each other. So I’m sure it’s going to be a good match.” He said about the upcoming match.
Yet to reach the final of a Masters 1000 event on a hard court, Indian Wells provides Wawrinka a golden opportunity to end his drought. Andy Murray’s shock exit means the 31-year-old will face no top-five player on route to the final. The odds are all in Wawrinka’s favour, but he is refusing to take his favorable draw for granted.
“For me, it doesn’t change much in my side. It’s not like I have been in a lot of semifinal/final in Masters 1000.” Wawrinka said about the draw.
“So I need to focus every match. I’m just enjoying to be back here, enjoying to be back winning. I know I’m practicing and playing well. I know anything is possible. I’m focused match after match.”
This week marks Wawrinka’s 90th appearance in the main draw of a Masters tournament. His first and so far only title in the series occurred in 2014 when he defeated Roger Federer in the Monte Carlo final on the clay.
