Wawrinka overcomes Serbia's Viktor Troicki in four sets
Friday 20 January 2017 09:00, UK
Stan Wawrinka overcame a rusty start to advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open while Jo-Wilfried Tsonga joined him after battling past Jack Sock.
The 2014 Australian Open champion was broken three times by Serbia's Viktor Troicki in the first set on Rod Laver Arena and committed twice as many unforced errors before overcoming the 30-year-old from Belgrade, 3-6 6-2 6-2 7-6 (9-7).
The Swiss fourth seed dropped the opening set but he recovered and was cruising to victory before Troicki forced him into a fourth-set tiebreaker.
Wawrinka needed three match points before completing victory over the 29th seed in two hours and 32 minutes.
"It was close. Tough tie-break for sure. Served twice for the match. Doesn't happen often," Wawrinka said. "But it's not a big deal. At the end I won in four sets. I'm still here. I know I'm playing well, playing better and better."
Victory helped three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka maintain his 100 per cent record against Troicki, winning all eight of their matches with the loss of only three sets to the Serb.
Wawrinka, who beat Rafael Nadal in the 2014 Australian Open final, will face Andreas Seppi in the round of 16 after the experienced Italian got past Belgium's Steve Darcis, 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-2) on Show Court 3.
The Swiss star said he felt confident in his game heading into the business end of the tournament.
"I know I'm playing really well on the practice court. I playing a good part of the match today okay," he said. "But again, what's important is to keep winning.
"It doesn't matter the way you're playing, especially at the beginning of a Grand Slam. But I just know that my level is there, so I'm not worried."
It was the fifth straight year Wawrinka has reached the fourth round in Melbourne and comes after earlier wins over Slovak Martin Klizan and American Steve Johnson.
Former Australian Open finalist Tsonga was made to work hard for his win by Jack Sock as the American went down 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 6-7 (8-10) 6-3 in three hours and 33 minutes.
The 12th seeded Frenchman maintained his impressive streak against American opponents at Grand Slam tournaments - winning 11 straight matches since Andy Roddick beat him at the 2007 Australian Open.
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