How Wawrinka strutted out of Federer’s shadow once and for all

Stanislas Wawrinka beat Roger Federer in the Monte Carlo final to win his first ATP 1000 title. It was also his first win over Federer since he beat him at the same tournament in 2009. Right now Wawrinka is a Major Champion, can boast wins over Nadal, Djokovic and Federer, and is an ATP 1000 winner. And all in the last 12 months. Federer, on the other hand, has not managed any of those achievements in that time period. It is safe to say that by beating Federer in the Monte Carlo final, Wawrinka has strutted out of Federer’s shadow once and for all.

The tennis review looks at how he did it.

The First Set:

Federer edges Wawrinka

Wawrinka hit quite a few errors at the start of the first set and they undid him when serving at 2-2.  Wawrinka led 40-30 in the fifth game but a forehand error leveled the game at deuce. A forehand winner got Wawrinka advantage. But he was not able to string together two good points in a row. A backhand long, a forehand long and another backhand long, and Wawrinka was a break down.

Federer held onto his serve for the remainder of the set and took it 6-4 as Wawrinka hit his 17th unforced error.

The Second Set:

Wawrinka finds his rhythm and breaks at the start of the second set.

Leading 1-0, 30-30, Wawrinka found his rhythm on his ground strokes and hit the forehand down the line and the backhand cross court with depth and pace to earn a break point. And this time it was  a Federer error, a forehand long hit to Wawrinka’s feet, which settled matters.

Federer breaks back.

Leading 2-0, Wawrinka hit a forehand volley out to go down 0-15. A forehand error and he was 0-30 down. Another back hand error, this one into the net as he tried to get the angled cross-court shot to pull a slicing Federer out wide, and Wawinka faced three break points.

Federer needed only one. A backhand passing shot down the line that snuck onto the right side of the tram-line and Federer had leveled the set. And with Wawrinka hitting errors and Federer’s shot-making back on form, it was hard to see Federer not winning his first Monte Carlo Open.

Wawrinka turns the tables in the Tiebreak

It certainly looked that way as the match went into a tiebreak. But, leading 1-0 on serve in the breaker, Wawrinka got a look at a second serve, hit a well placed deep forehand return which Federer mishit on. Wawrinka held on to his break despite Federer’s consistency and fight  all the way to 6-3. Federer saved the first, forcing an error with a cross-court backhand. He saved the second with an ace.

But it was third time unlucky. Wawrinka served out wide to the backhand and then charged the net, smashing the high return away to take the breaker 7-5. It was the 13th winner for Wawrinka in the set. The Swiss no 1 was ahead, too, in the winners-errors count, his errors standing at 10. Federer meanwhile was 11-18.

The Third Set

Wawrinka runs away with the Third set

Wawrinka kept his momentum into the third. A signature flat backhand cross-court winner saw the Swiss no. 1 lead 15-30 on the Federer serve. A cross court forehand hit at the net forced a Federer error for 30-40. His shoulders now wide open, Wawrinka pounded the ball in the next rally forcing another error from another huge forehand to seal the break and lead 1-0.

Wawrinka did not let up. In the third game a sublime backhand down the line, a tired drop shot from Federer and a cross court forehand winner that painted the line saw him lead 3-0.

Now emerging from the shadow, Wawrinka jumped into the limelight as he held serve all the way to 5-2. Though Federer tried his best to keep Wawrinka behind the baseline, the Swiss legend had lost some of his accuracy, a backhand cross court missing the line to give Wawrinka two championship points.

Wawrinka missed the first serve, and the second one landed in the middle of the service box, right into Federer’s hitting zone. Federer sliced the ball deep in the corner to Wawrinka’s backhand. Wawrinka struck a backhand down the line, pushing Federer behind the baseline. Federer hit cross-court to Wawrinka’s forehand. Wawrinka crushed the forehand down the line, getting Federer on the run. Federer got his backhand on the ball and Wawrinka got himself into position to take on the floating ball with his forehand. Wawrinka hit out at the ball, blasting the forehand cross-court for a winner.

Wawrinka did not celebrate the win over his practice partner and friend with anything more than a raised fist and a smile. He strolled over to the net to shake hands. He did not need to strut anyway. His game had done that for him, strutting out from beneath the shadow of his legendary compatriot as he continues his own journey into the tennis history books.