By Erik Gudris | Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Stanislas Wawrinka endured his first loss of the season at the hands of Kevin Anderson. Roger Federer and John Isner each advanced at Indian Wells.
Photo Credit: AP
As the men's event at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells continues to remain unpredictable, one constant that remains is that big servers are thriving.
That proved true again as No. 3 Stanislas Wawrinka found himself up against the recently in-form Kevin Anderson of South Africa.
Anderson, who reached two finals in a row of late, hung with Wawrinka deep into the opening set. Entering a tiebreak, Anderson would run away with it seven points to one.
Wawrinka would then leave the court for a medical time out to have his lower back and thigh treated. Urged on by the Stadium 1 crowd, an inspired Wawrinka managed to break Anderson to claim the second set. But Wawrinka would get broken himself at the start of the third set.
With Anderson holding his huge serve and holding his own in the rallies, Wawrinka would never recover. Anderson soon closed out the 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-1 victory that was his fifth against a top 10 player.
For Wawrinka, it was his first loss of the 2014 season since winning the Australian Open in January.
Afterwards on Twitter, Wawrinka appeared to blame his loss more on his poor attitude than any physical issues.
With Anderson's win, it ended the hopes of many that Wawrinka would take on his doubles partner this week Roger Federer in the next round.
Federer booked his spot in the final eight of the singles draw with a comfortable win over his good friend Tommy Haas of Germany.
Taking advantage of earning one break of serve in each set, Federer completed the 6-4, 6-4 win with a final sizzling ace in just under 90 minutes.
Isner Reaches Quarters Over Verdasco
John Isner needed his big serve along with finding well-timed returns in his fourth round encounter with Fernando Verdasco.
Isner would throw in some of his trademark big deliveries to win the opening set in a tiebreak.
But the last American left in the draw fell behind an early break in the second set that Verdasco soon won. Though not known for his return game, Isner managed to break Verdasco at love midway through the final set.
Never letting go of his lead, Isner served out the 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-3 win. Isner will next face Ernests Gulbis in the quarterfinals.
In late night action, No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic overcame dropping the first set to No. 24 seed Marin Cilic before winning 1-6, 6-2, 6-3. Djokovic will next face Julien Benneteau of France.