Vintage Wawrinka Bests Murray In Historic ATP Challenger Match

| by Sebastian Dahlman

Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray met at the ATP Challenger event in Bordeaux in France, something they probably never expected to happen.

The two veterans have their Challenger days behind them, but in the second week of the Italian Open, the event in Bordeaux can serve as a great preparation for the upcoming Roland Garros, which can lose its biggest star.

The Scot, who recently broke a record for the longest gap between the first and the last ATP Challenger title, entered the tournament as the second seed and so he didn't have to play the first-round match.

On the other hand, Wawrinka took on qualifier Ugo Blanchet and beat him in two sets. All the eyes immediately turned to the second-round meeting between the two three-time Grand Slam champions which turned to be a historic match as it was the first of its kind.

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It was the first match between two Grand Slam winners on the ATP Challenger Tour since 1981 but for the first time ever, two players that won at least three major trophies faced off at this level.

And while their previous battles and build-up to the match created a lot of excitement and expectations, the match itself was much shorter than everyone probably expected. Wawrinka found his firing power while Murray struggled again.

The Swiss player needed only one break to win the first set 6-3, but in the second set, he never allowed Murray to think about a comeback, beating the fellow veteran 6-3, 6-0 to advance to the quarterfinals of the ATP Challenger event in Bordeaux.

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