Wawrinka Prevails Over Chardy Yet Again, Fucsovics Stuns Tiafoe the Three-Time Grand Slam Winner Cruises Past Chardy in Straight Sets; Bedene Knocks out Bublik
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Stokes puts QatarTribune Qatar_Tribune on bowling QatarTribuneChannel qatar_tribune masterclass as England beat South Africa to level Test series PAGE 15 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020 QATAR EXXONMOBIL OPEN 2020 Wawrinka prevails over Chardy yet again, Fucsovics stuns Tiafoe The three-time Grand Slam winner cruises past Chardy in straight sets; Bedene knocks out Bublik VINAY NAYUDU DOHA STANISLAS Wawrinka has thus far beaten France’s Jer- emy Chardy at various tennis cities of the world. On Tues- day, ‘Stan the Man’ added Doha as the seventh one to that list on his way into the quarter-finals of Qatar Exxon- Mobil Open 2020. Wawrinka had earlier de- feated Chardy at Madrid, Aca- pulco (Mexico), Tokyo, s-Her- togenbosch (Netherlands), Roland Garros (Paris) and at the US Open (New York). It isn’t that Chardy is any Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka waves to the crowd after his second round victory over Jeremy Chardy of France in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open Marton Fucsovics plays a return to Frances Tiafoe during their first whipping boy. The 32-year- at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha on Tuesday. (PICS: MAHMOUD HEFNAWY) round match of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Tuesday. old is ranked 55 and has an ATP World Tour title under then went about looking and DAY TWO RESULTS Wawrinka said he was trying round, qualifier Marton Fuc- his belt. He had last stretched the player also passed on a to be aggressive. sovics of Hungary shocked Wawrinka to four sets at the tennis ball to the cat. Singles (2nd Round) 5-Laslo Djere (SRB) bt Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) 6-1, 3-6, “I think it was just a break, eighth seed Frances Tiafoe of US Open. But then the three- The two-minute interven- 1-Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) bt Jeremy Chardy (FRA) 6-2 I’m really happy with the one break. I was trying to be the US 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. 6-3, 6-4 Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) bt WC-Malek Jaziri (TUN) 6-0, first match, first match of time Grand Slam champion tion over and Chardy man- Aljaz Bedene (SLO) bt Alexander Bublik (KAZ) 6-3, 7-5. 6-3. back, trying to make him play The 27-year-old Hungar- Wawrinka has somehow al- aged to hold his serve. He, Doubles (2nd Round) the season, after a few more, to be a bit more aggres- ian had held an edge of hav- ways held sway over his two however couldn’t manage to 1st Round Frederik Nielsen (DEN) & Tim Puetz (GER) bt Marcelo months without playing sive, to move well. And I think ing beaten Tiafoe at Geneva years younger opponent. break any of Wawrinka’s serve WC-Cem Ilkel (TUR) bt Ricardas Berankis (LTU) 6-2, Demoliner (BRA) & Matwe Middelkoop (NED) 7-6 (10), matches. I think the level I start to play much better, once earlier. At the Khalifa Internation- having lost his very first in the 4-6, 6-2; 6-7, 10-7 much more aggressive.” The 2017 Australian Open Q-Marton Fucsovics (HUN) bt 8-Frances Tiafoe (USA) Ken Skupski & Neil Skupski (GBR) bt Laslo Djere (SRB) was good. I was really al Tennis & Squash Complex opening set. 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 & Aljaz Bedene (SLO) 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 10-5. Wawrinka meets Slova- quarter-finalist Tiafoe made centre court, Wawrinka, cur- In the second, Chardy ran focused, moving well also. kian Aljaz Bedene, who took too many unforced errors to rently ranked 15, needed an up a 3-0 lead making Waw- – Stan Wawrinka out Russia-born Kazakh Alex- lose the first set and while he hour and 27 minutes to beat rinka push hard with his serve without playing matches. I cat, he smiled to say, “I was ander Bublik 6-3, 7-5, in the made a comeback in the sec- Chardy 6-3, 6-4. now touching 203kmph. The think the level was good. I trying to make him leave the last eight. ond, Fucsovics had enough It was an interesting duel top-seeded Swiss soon broke was really focused, moving court nicely.” won all those matches, but it The 22-year-old (rank 55) in his armoury to break the also marked by the custom- Chardy and then held his own well also,” said Wawrinka of When asked if he con- has always been difficult. You Bublik had accounted for 7th American twice in the final set ary appearance of a cat. This to make the scores 3-3. This his win, after having hit 12 sidered Chardy as one of always have to find a way. He seed Adrian Mannarino of to ensure another win. time a white furry scrambled was followed by another Waw- aces to Chardy’s 1. his favourite opponents, the was serving well today. France on the opening day on Fifth seed Laslo Djere of across with Wawrinka lead- rinka break in the 7th game as About the appearance Swiss said, “Not one of my “But, again, I think today I Monday. He, however, found Serbia too dropped a set be- ing 3-0 (40-all). The cat ran he went on to wrap the set and of the cat, Wawrinka said, favourite, but he is probably played well. I was moving well, his match in 30-year-old Be- fore getting past Italian Lor- across into one of the side ad- match at 6-4. “Something happened in the the one against whom I have I was serving well, and finding dene, ranked 58, and a natu- enzo Sonego 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. vertising runners and Chardy “I’m really happy with the match, but it didn’t take too the best record. But he’s al- the right things to do.” ralised British, who returned Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Ki- wanted it to be removed. The first match, first match of the long.” ways difficult player to play. About Chardy’s climb to represent Slovenia in 2018. kushkin prevailed over Tuni- chair umpire and Wawrinka season, after a few months On him giving a ball to the You know, I’m happy to have back in the second set, Meanwhile in the first sian Malek Jaziri 6-0, 6-3. Serena powers past Giorgi for ‘solid’ start Medvedev downplays Aussie Open to 2020; Anisimova through in Auckland hopes after ending Ruud’s run AFP she prepares for the Australian AFP AUCKLAND Open later in the month with PERTH, AUSTRALIA her eyes firmly on a record- SERENA Williams found her equalling 24th Grand Slam ti- IN-FORM Daniil Medvedev I don’t think about it power game after a sluggish tle. downplayed expectations of (expectations) for the start as she overcame qualifier While Williams is the un- an Australian Open title as- Australian Open. I just work Camila Giorgi to open her 2020 disputed face of American sault after his impressive hard in practice and try to season with a straight-sets vic- tennis, she has been joined in start to the season continued do my job as best as I can. tory at the Auckland WTA Clas- Auckland by the new wave of when he ended Casper Ruud’s sic on Tuesday. US tennis stars, headed by the giant-killing spree at the ATP – Daniil Medvedev With an eye on the Austral- tournament third seed Amanda Cup on Tuesday. ian Open later in the month, the Anisimova who did not disap- The world number five’s 38-year-old worked her way point. 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) victory sealed The towering Russian was into a blistering performance The 18-year-old, who cap- Russia’s place in the quarter- particularly impressive at the that proved too much for the 1.7 tured world attention reaching finals of the new 24-team net, winning 14 of 19 points. metre (5ft 6in) Italian. the semi-finals of the French tournament. He hit 34 win- “Against Casper I knew I She described her first Open last year where she lost ners and 13 aces after earlier had to finish some points at match since losing the US Open in three sets to eventual cham- victories over top-20 ranked the net,” he said. “I knew I had final in September as “solid” pion Ashleigh Barty, needed 78 players Fabio Fognini and to be aggressive and I think it rather than spectacular. minutes to dispose of Kateryna John Isner. helped me a lot.” “Spent a long time off from Kozlova of the Ukraine 6-3, 6-4. Medvedev, 23, reached his Group D winner Russia tournament play, match play, Unlike Williams, Anisimo- first Grand Slam final at last advanced to the knockout so solid is pretty good. It’s a va said she felt quite at home in year’s US Open, where he lost stages in Sydney, while Nor- great start to build on,” she said the Auckland wind. a five-set epic to world num- way’s surprising run, which after sealing her 6-3, 6-2 victory Serena Williams hits a return against Camila Giorgi during their “I’ve been training in Mi- ber one Rafael Nadal, and his started with a stunning upset with her eighth ace against the women’s singles first round match at the Auckland Classic tennis ami and it’s really the same,” hot form in Perth has pundits of the United States, ended. Daniil Medvedev in action 99th-ranked Giorgi. tournament in Auckland on Tuesday. (AFP) she said. believing he can make a deep Ruud, whose father Chris- against Casper Ruud during “It’s really good that I still The top five seeds were all run in Melbourne.