By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, May 23, 2016
Reigning Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, victory over Lukas Rosol to reach the second round.
Photo credit: Roland Garros
Clad in a canary-colored shirt, Stan Wawrinka was seeing red in the fifth set of his Roland Garros opener today.
No reigning men's champion had ever fallen in the first round in the Open Era, but Lukas Rosol pushed Wawrinka to the edge of ignominious history.
The world No. 4 was well behind the baseline when he blitzed a backhand pass down the line raising a fist to punctuate an inspired reply.
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Nearly written out of the draw, Wawrinka wielded his signature shot to incite a rousing comeback.
In an explosive clash of 30-somethings, the defending champion fought off Rosol, 4-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in a high-quality match that spanned three hours, 11 minutes.
Familiarity was evident at the outset. Wawrinka defeated Rosol for the fourth time in as many meetings with a three-set win in the Geneva semifinals last week.
The 68th-ranked Czech came out with a clear game plan in this rematch: Hug the baseline to rob Wawrinka of reaction time and hammer flat strikes to play first-strike tennis and deny the champion a rhythm.
Hitting with authority, Rosol broke for 3-2. An inside-out forehand gave Rosol set point. Attacking net, the Czech challenged Wawrinka's strength, the one-handed backhand, and drew an error to snatch a one-set lead.
The 31-year-old Swiss plays with a bit more spin than Rosol and began creating angles at the start of the second set. Wawrinka snapped a running forehand flick pass for break point. Rosol ripped a massive serve wide denying a fourth break point.
On his fifth break point, Wawrinka chipped an angled return drawing a backhand error to break with a resounding "allez!" for a 3-1 second-set advantage. Stan ran through the second set to level the match.
Continuing to hammer away with his heavy flat groundstrokes, Rosol broke for a 3-1 third-set lead. The Czech drove the ball deep, kept points short and tried to play aggressive tennis on his terms.
Rosol, who famously upset Rafael Nadal at the 2012 Wimbledon and knocked over Nadal's water bottle while losing their Wimbledon rematch two years later, can be a devastating threat when his first serve is clicking.
Whipping his two-handed backhand directly at Wawrinka's vaunted one-hander, Rosol drew a shanked backhand to take the third set with a clenched fist.
The fourth set of this first rounder felt like finals weekend when the two stood toe-to-toe on the baseline and engaged a 31-shot rally that at times looked like a race to obliterate the ball. Wawrinka fended off same massive blasts from Rosol, eventually wrenching control of the point and inciting the crowd with this exclamatory smash.
Title defense hopes seemed to flicker in the fourth set when Wawrinka faced double break point in the fifth game. He knocked down a bounce smash to deny the first and escaped the second when Rosol netted a backhand. Wawrinka held for 3-2 with a rousing yell raising his fist like a man fully committed to the fight.
A key tactical shift was Wawrinka's willingness to chance the pace and height of his shots. He sometimes used the angled slice backhand to displace his opponent and create space to bang his one-hander down the line.
Luring Rosol forward with an enticing chip backhand, Wawrinka pounced from a crouch and cranked a crosscourt backhand pass breaking at love for 5-3. Still, Wawrinka had to withstand 30-all pressure to serve out the set. A crackling rally ended with the champion drilling a backhand winner down the line. Wawrinka hammered a big serve wide to force a fifth set.
Empowered, Wawrinka earned double break point in the third game. The Swiss sailed a lob slightly long and was handcuffed by a body serve on the second break point. By then, Wawrinka had converted just three of 14 break-point chances.
Digging in, Wawrinka slid a backhand pass down the line for a 15th break point. This time, Wawrinka strong armed his way through the point, drawing the error to break for 2-1. Slashing an ace down the T, Wawrinka consolidated for 3-1.
On his first match point, Wawrinka dragged a forehand down the line wide. A stubborn Rosol held forcing the Swiss to serve it out.
On his second match point, Wawrinka showed nerves over-hitting a forehand sitter from inside the service line. Undeterred, he moved forward again this time angling off a backhand volley to finally quell a dangerous threat from Rosol after a three hour, 11-minute adventure.