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By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday September 27, 2020


Stand, deliver, dominate.

That was the message Stan Wawrinka sent on Sunday on Court Philippe Chatrier as he galloped past Andy Murray in a battle of three-time Grand Slam champions in Paris.

Tennis Express

The Swiss raced to a 6-1 6-3 6-2 victory over Murray in the pair’s 21st career meeting, and their first at Roland Garros since the met in the semifinals in 2017.

On that day Wawrinka needed all he had to dispatch Murray in a grueling five-setter. On Sunday the Swiss just need to grip it and rip at as he mercilessly hit through the slow conditions and left the Scot flat-footed from start to finish.

"It's clear that slow conditions with fairly heavy balls in general is something that suits me quite well in my game because I can stay aggressive, I can play heavy anyway,” said Wawrinka. “I have this power to do it."

He showed it.

For the first time since 1999 a first-round match was contested by former Grand Slam champions at the French Open, but Wawrinka would be the only one to live up to the pre-match hype.

Murray who was making his first appearance in Paris since 2017, was left wondering what he could have done better.


"I should be analyzing that hard and trying to understand why the performance was like that." he said.

For those who were worried about Wawrinka’s form after his stunning first-round loss to Lorenzo Musetti in Rome last week, perhaps the concern was a little premature.

Wawrinka made the decision to skip the US Open and focus on his clay game, and after winning a challenger title in Prague a few weeks ago, the loss in Rome appears to be a mere speed bump.

In other words, he’s looking like a potential menace in the mens’ draw.

“I think that when I arrived on the ground I knew where I was. I trained really well,” he said. “I feel good in training. I play well, physically I also feel good. Now it's always the same, you have to put it in a match. Today it was a very good game for a first round. I am very happy, very satisfied. It's the first round and now we have to see the rest.”


 

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