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Clench your fist to the right: Stan Wawrinka. Image: keystone
A slack, but in reality everything under control: Wawrinka defeats Koepfer
Stan Wawrinka lost a set at the French Open, but made it to the third round without a hitch. The 2015 Roland Garros winner defeated German Dominik Koepfer in 2:08 hours 6: 3, 6: 2, 3: 6, 6: 1.
Wawrinka’s next rival is Frenchman Hugo Gaston (ATP 239). The 20-year-old, who is in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the second time thanks to a wild card, beat Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in four sets. It will be the first duel between Wawrinka and Gaston. In the knockout stages, the 35-year-old will likely face last year’s finalist Dominic Thiem.
Three days after the sovereign start against Andy Murray, the last Swiss remaining in the tournament also put in a convincing performance for long stretches against Dominik Koepfer, world number 61. Once again, Wawrinka dictated much of the plays, even when the opponent served.
Koepfer overwhelmed
However, in the meantime he took a creative break. He passed the third set quite lightly with 20 unforced errors, especially from 3: 3 to 3: 6 he handed out gifts. In the fourth round, Wawrinka immediately got two breaks again.
Koepfer had no more or less chances. Image: keystone
Aside from the third set, Florida resident Koepfer was often overwhelmed by Wawrinka’s offensive play. Only at the beginning of the game was he close to a break. With a score of 2: 2, Wawrinka recovered 0:40, and to make it 5: 3, the Lausanne man achieved a breakthrough on serve that paved the way for him in the third round.
Koepfer, who made his way to the top 100 in American college tennis, had a higher caliber than Murray, who was still immobile after his hip operation. The 26-year-old Black Forest driver reached the quarter-finals in Rome before the French Open and took home a set from Novak Djokovic. The previous year he had reached the last sixteen at the US Open as a qualifier. However, Koepfer did not reach the level to become dangerous for Wawrinka. (ram / sda)
