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By Chris Oddo | Wednesday August 15, 2018


Stan Wawrinka took another significant step in his comeback on Wednesday night in Cincinnati, defeating Kei Nishikori 6-4 6-4 on the Grandstand at the Western and Southern Open just before the rains came and wiped out the rest of Day 4 play.

Video: Mercurial Kyrgios Hits Insane Forehand Winner in Cincinnati

There was some vintage “Stanimal” in the performance, as the Swiss rallied from 4-1 down in the first set to take 11 of the final 15 games and in doing so notched his fourth win his last five matches.

The 33-year-old Swiss improved to 10-12 on the season, and while he hasn’t exactly racked up the wins since returning from double knee surgery, Wawrinka has displayed much better form since hitting the North American hardcourts this summer.


He has earned three Top 25 wins in the last 10 days, and his only defeat came in a spirited loss to eventual Rogers Cup champion Rafael Nadal in Toronto.

Tennis Express

Wawrinka is energized by his form and points to his play last week as a provider of a spark.

“I feel like for sure I gain a lot of confidence from last week,” he told reporters on Wednesday night in Cincinnati. “By winning two matches, I start to feel better on the court, to move better. So I need to keep focusing on what I'm doing, keep trying to play my game, being aggressive. Today I was moving really well on the court in defense, in attack, in passing, in drop shot, everything.”


Wawrinka moves into the round of 16 to face Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, the player he saved four match points to defeat last week in Toronto.

“For sure, was big battle, winning, saving four match points,” Wawrinka said. “It's only one point can change the match.”

Wawrinka cautioned that he’s still not entirely out of the woods yet. There’s winning one match, like he did with authority tonight against Nishikori, and there’s stringing many of them together.

“I feel it's getting there,” Wawrinka says. “For sure there is still a lot of work to do. I need to see how it's going to be the next few weeks, how I'm going to handle everything.”

He added: “I need to just take patience with myself, to accept things that's happening but still working out, working the right way, doing the right stuff off the court every day, day by day, and by doing that, I know that I will get there.”

 

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