Stan Wawrinka rolls back the years to set up Rotterdam semi-final clash with Kei Nishikori
Stan Wawrinka rolled back the years to claim a highly impressive win over Denis Shapovalov in the quarter-finals of the Rotterdam Open on Friday.
The 33-year-old, who beat Shapovalov’s fellow Canadian Milos Raonic earlier in the tournament, has endured a wretched time on tour since undergoing two serious knee surgeries in 2017.
However, he was too good for tenth-seed Shapovalov, cruising to a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) win to tantalizingly suggest he may be able to regain his best form.
“Physically I feel really good, and I’m moving and feeling better match after match,” said Wawrinka.
“Tonight was a tough match. I had to really fight at the end.
“I was a bit nervous at the end of the match. We had some long rallies.
“It’s good to see that I can keep being there, mentally, physically.”
Wawrinka will now face top seed Kei Nishikori in the semi-finals after he easily overpowered Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 6-2.
The other semi-final sees Daniil Medvedev and Gael Monfils go head-to-head after they produced straight-sets wins over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Damir Dzumhur respectively.
