Stanislas Wawrinka Stuns Rome With Maiden Clay Victory Over Rafael Nadal
Stanislas Wawrinka wowed the crowd on his way to a thrilling 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 victory to secure a semi-final match-up with compatriot Roger Federer on Saturday.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: May 16, 2015 07:32 AM IST
Swiss eighth seed Stan Wawrinka sent seven-time champion Rafael Nadal crashing out of the Italian Open with his maiden clay court win over the Spaniard at the quarter-final stage on Friday.
At a packed Foro Italico, where Hollywood star Ben Stiller was among the VIPs, Wawrinka wowed the crowd on his way to a thrilling 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 victory to secure a semi-final match-up with compatriot Roger Federer on Saturday.
The winner of that match will meet either Serbia's Novak Djokovic, the top seed and defending champion, or Spain's David Ferrer, the seventh seed, in the final on Sunday.
Nadal remains the favourite for Roland Garros, the highlight of the clay court season which begins in less than 10 days' time in Paris and where he claimed his ninth French Open title last year.
But the Spaniard's defeat at such an early stage of the competition in Rome will have alerted his rivals to minor chinks in his clay court armour.
Nadal was stunned by Andy Murray last week as the Briton claimed victory in the final of the Madrid Masters.
But the Spaniard, who claimed he was handicapped by playing at night time when the ball bounces lower than during the day, ultimately took his hat off to his Swiss opponent.
"I'm not very unhappy at the way I played, but I think playing at night is not the best thing against a player like Wawrinka," said Nadal.
"He hit every ball very strongly, but during the day bounces are higher and for me it's easier to put him a little bit more back.
"At night the ball is bit slower, the bounces are not that high, so he had the chance to go for it.
"He hit amazing shots in a lot of key moments... he played a lot of good points. I accept (the result), I can ony congratulate him.
"I've lost in the quarter-finals but I've had two weeks in a row playing well. Only once have I lost: in the final of Madrid, to Andy Murray."
- Swiss semi-final -
Wawrinka had beaten Nadal only once in their previous 13 encounters, notably trumping the 14-time Grand Slam winner in the final of the 2014 Australian Open, which is played on a synthetic surface.
But he belied his past record by matching -- and surpassing -- Nadal's formidable game on the red dirt with a rich variety of shots and movement across central court.
Wawrinka had the crowd on his side early in the first set when it became clear he had not come to make up the numbers.
The Swiss saved four set points on his way to winning a first set tiebreak 9/7. Nadal's service was then broken early in the second set as Wawrinka raced to a 3-1 lead, conceding one more game before wrapping up the set 6-2.
"For me it's really important to beat Nadal on clay, I'm really happy," said the 30-year-old from Lausanne.
"This win is very important for me. I've been doing the right thing for the past few weeks, although I was looking for a win to help my confidence.
"The first set was really important... I tried to focus on moving a little bit better and being more aggressive and he was missing some returns from the baseline, especially after losing the first set."
In a semi-final that will have most of Switzerland glued to their television sets on Sunday, Wawrinka will try to beat Federer for only the third time in 18 meetings.
With 17 Grand Slam titles and 85 career titles to his name, Federer starts as the favourite. Wawrinka has one Grand Slam victory and nine career titles.
"It's never easy for me to play him (Federer) he's been playing faster this week and serving well," added Wawrinka.
"It's going to be tough for sure and I'll have to be at my best if I'm to beat him."