Madrid Open: Stan Wawrinka downs Maxime Cressy to advance into next round

Madrid [Spain], April 27 : Stan Wawrinka on Wednesday produced a fine performance to down World No. 39 Maxime Cressy 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-6(4) in opening-round action at the ongoing Madrid Open.

Three-time major champion Wawrinka won 46 of 54 first-serve points and fired 19 aces to advance after two hours, 27 minutes.

While Cressy committed to his serve-and-volley strategy, Wawrinka kept close to the baseline on first-serve returns, retreating only to deal with the American's heavy second delivery. Wawrinka stayed calm from the baseline and exhibited passing strokes off both sides, finishing with 41 wins and only 18 unforced errors.

"I'm super happy, I was expecting a really tough match. First time playing against him, he's a tough player, putting a lot of pressure [on you], especially in fast conditions. It's not easy to control the game, [not] a lot of rallies. I was staying calm and tried to be aggressive as I could on my serve. It's great to win that battle," ATP.com quoted Wawrinka as saying.

Wawrinka will next meet Monte-Carlo champion Andrey Rublev for the first time since the 2020 Paris Masters.

"It's going to be a completely different matchup. The second round also, I have a match under my legs. I think I can play well, I've played him a few times already in my career. He's in top form, it's going to be a tough battle, but a great challenge for me. That's the reason I keep playing, to play the top players and try to beat them," Wawrinka said.

In other first-round play, Roberto Carballes Baena defeated David Goffin 6-4, 6-4. In the second round, the Spard will face two-time Madrid champion Alexander Zverev. Alex Molcan, who reached the Banja Luka semi-finals last week, defeated Wu Yibing 6-2, 6-4.

Frenchmen Gregoire Barrere and Quentin Halys survived three-setters Monday. Barrere downed American wild card Emilio Nava 6-0, 5-7, 6-3 and Halys escaped Alexei Popyrin 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.