Rotterdam: Swiss wildcard Stan Wawrinka booked a quarterfinal place at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament with a 6-4, 7-6(7-4) victory over Canadian fourth seed Milos Raonic here, Wednesday. It was sweet revenge for Wawrinka who had lost to Raonic in the Australian Open in a match where neither player lost their serve once.
Wawrinka, seeking his first title since undergoing knee surgery in 2017, will next face another Canadian for a place in the last four after Denis Shapovalov defeated Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-3 at the Ahoy Arena here.
“Tonight (Wednesday) was a really good level, that is for sure,” Wawrinka told reporters. “It is one of the best matches I have played in many months now. So far I have (played) two great matches (in Rotterdam),” stated the Swiss.
Three-time Grand Slam winner Wawrinka was delighted with his workout as he had been beaten by Raonic in their last three meetings. “I was feeling great physically, so that is how I can start to engage the rally. I was returning better because I reacted better and that gave me way more chances to be aggressive,” Wawrinka said.
Earlier, Damir Dzumhur notched up his first victory of 2019 when he outwitted third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 in an opening round match.
Reuters