Wawrinka advances to Italian Open pre-quarters

Rome May 18 (IANS) Swiss World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka overcame a second-set hiccup to defeat Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-3 1-6 6-3 and booked a spot in the round of 16 of the Italian Open a key tune-up event for Roland Garros.

Wawrinka on Wednesday converted one of the three break points he created and staved off Paire s lone break opportunity to take the first set but the Swiss three-time Grand Slam champion s game went south in the second reports Efe.

After winning 16 of his 18 first-serve points in the opener Wawrinka won a shocking three of 11 points after putting his first serve in play in the second set resulting in two breaks of serve.

The 32-year-old Wawrinka however righted the ship at the start of the third set to jump out to a 3-0 lead and secure the win in one hour and 42 minutes.

The third-seeded Swiss whose victory was revenge for his loss to Paire last week at another elite clay-court event the Madrid Open will next take on big-serving American John Isner.

Most of the other favoured men s players also notched victories on Wednesday with No. 4 seed and seven-time champion Rafael Nadal fifth-seeded Milos Raonic seventh-seeded Kei Nishikori and eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem all advancing to Thursday s round of 16.

--IANS
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