Stan Wawrinka got a much-needed shoulder massage from a random fan, then summoned the strength to finish off an upset-minded Dustin Brown at the Moselle Open in Metz on Thursday. For the record, let it be said that Brown did not, sadly, receive a shoulder massage from any fans on Thursday.
Top-seeded Wawrinka, who dropped the opening set, also found himself behind 3-1 in the deciding-set tiebreaker before he rallied to victory over the high-flying German.
After Wawrink reeled off three straight points to lead 4-3 in the third-set tiebreaker, Brown drew even again. But a seared backhand crosscourt winner, which sailed past a net-rushing Brown on the next point, gave Wawrinka a 5-4 lead and opened the door for the Swiss to finish the victory in style.
Wawrinka improved to 43-13 on the season, and 25-7 on hard courts. The victory levels his lifetime head-to-head with Brown at 1-1.
Wawrinka’s 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over Brown sets up a quarterfinal encounter with 5th-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber. The German defeated Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi, 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday in Metz.
2nd-seeded Gilles Simon (d. Roger-Vasselin) 4th-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (d. Herbert) and 6th-seeded Martin Klizan (d. Pospisil) were all winners on Thursday, while 7th-seeded Adrian Mannarino was upset by fellow Frenchman Nicolas Mahut.