BASEL, Switzerland – Stan Wawrinka delighted home fans again at the Swiss Indoors, digging deep to beat Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in the second round on Thursday after failing to serve out the match in the second set.
Two days after a straight-set win over No. 3-ranked Casper Ruud, the 37-year-old Wawrinka wasted a chance for another efficient victory when he let slip a 5-3 lead and Nakashima took four straight games to level the match.
Wawrinka hung with the 21-year-old American in the decider then converted the only break point of the set to take a 5-4 lead.
The three-time Grand Slam winner, now ranked No. 194 after injury-hit seasons, clinched the victory with a backhand winner.
Wawrinka will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarterfinals on Friday after the sixth-seeded Spaniard eased to a 6-3, 6-2 win over another three-time Grand Slam champion, Andy Murray.
Third-seeded Felix Augur-Aliassime cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 win over Miomir Kecmanovic as he searches for his third straight title. The No. 9-ranked Canadian won tournaments in Florence, Italy, and Antwerp, Belgium over the last two weeks.
Augur-Aliassime’s quarterfinal opponent is Alexander Bublik, who won 6-3, 6-3 against Alberto Ramos-Vinolas.
BASEL, Switzerland — Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz eased into the quarterfinals at the Swiss Indoors by beating Botic van de Zandchulp 6-4, 6-2.
The 19-year-old Spaniard clinched the win with his only ace in a second-round match where he had 20 winners and made just nine unforced errors.
Alcaraz’s serve was broken once and he trailed 2-0 in the second set before reeling off six straight games against the 35th-ranked Dutchman.
Third-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime was on court before Alcaraz in a first-round match and won 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4 against Swiss wild-card entry Marc-Andrea Huesler.
Two seeded players lost their first-round matches, with No. 7 Alex de Minaur falling 6-2, 7-5 against 25th-ranked teenager Holger Rune.
In the previous Swiss Indoors edition, in 2019 before the tournament was canceled twice because of the COVID-19 pandemic, De Minaur lost in the final as Roger Federer won a record 10th title at his hometown event.
Eighth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti cruised through the first set before losing 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 against Albert Ramos-Vinolas, the 34-year-old Spaniard.
In a second-round match, Arthur Rinderknech beat Alex Molcan 6-2, 6-4.
BASEL, Switzerland — On a stellar day for veteran Grand Slam champions, Stan Wawrinka beat third-ranked Casper Ruud and Andy Murray rallied to win in three sets in the first round of the Swiss Indoors.
The 37-year-old Wawrinka hit his ninth ace to seal a 6-4, 6-4 win over Ruud, who was the U.S. Open runner-up last month, and delight his home crowd.
Wawrinka is now ranked No. 194 after persistent injury problems but the win was his second over a top-five opponent in five weeks. He beat fourth-ranked Daniil Medvedev last month in Metz, France.
“I fought despite the injuries. I wanted to come and play in front of you,” Wawrinka said in a tearful on-court interview, thanking fans for their support.
Murray, a former U.S. Open champion like Wawrinka, earlier won 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 against Roman Safiullin after the Russian led 4-1 in the final set.
The 35-year-old Murray, who also won two Wimbledon titles, reeled off five straight games to complete the victory after more than 2 1/2 hours on court. It was the No. 49-ranked Scot’s first match in Basel since 2005.
“I changed the way I was returning a little bit and when I did that I was able to create a few more opportunities and frustrate him a little bit,” Murray said.
Wawrinka first played in Basel 19 years ago but never went beyond the semifinals at the event won by hometown favorite Roger Federer a record 10 times.
Wawrinka next plays Brandon Nakashima of the United States. He could face Murray in the quarterfinals.
Another Swiss winner was 20-year-old Dominic Stricker who beat American Maxime Cressy 7-6 (4), 6-3. Stricker, a wild-card entry ranked No. 129, next faces Pablo Carreno Busta. The fifth-seeded Spaniard beat Sebastian Baez 6-2, 6-1.