By Erik Gudris | Sunday, January 11, 2015

Stan Wawrinka enjoyed a perfect start to his new year by repeating as champion of the Aircel Chennai Open in Chennai, India.

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On Sunday, Wawrinka faced off against surprise finalist World No. 156 Aljaz Bedene who became the first qualifier in event history to reach the tournament final. Both men entered this final having split their last two matches, both of them taking place in Chennai over the last two years.

"It's amazing to win again, to start the year with a trophy. I'm very happy with my level. It was a great final," Wawrinka said to AP.com "(Bedene) has been through the qualifier, beating a lot of seeds and it's been good for him, too."

Wawrinka managed two key breaks of serve in each set. The World No. 4 broke Bedene in the sixth game of the first set and the seventh game of the second set.

In just 70 minutes, Wawrinka wrapped up the convincing 6-3, 6-4 victory giving him his third title in Chennai and eighth overall in his career.

Wawrinka hit 22 winners and 20 unforced errors while Bedene struck 16 winners and 22 errors.

"Stan played amazing today," Bedene said. "It's been a great week. I guess hard work has paid off for me. This is now my favorite tournament for three years and I'll be back here next year."

Wawrinka now sets his sights on the upcoming Australian Open where he enters as defending men's champion.

"It's going to be a strange feeling to come back as the defending champion in a Grand Slam. But right now, I want to enjoy this trophy. It's not every week you win a trophy and it's really tough to win on the ATP Tour."