Almost twenty years after winning his maiden trophy in Umag, Stan Wawrinka is one match away from reaching the final again.
Stan the man is proving the nickname true this week with some vintage performances that will see him play in the Croatia Open semi-final. He played at the event many years ago, winning his maiden ATP trophy there, so going all the way would be a big full-circle moment for him.
Wawrinka has a pretty decent chance to do so, as he's in the semi-final after beating Roberto Carballes Baena in two sets. It was a big win for him, considering how well the Spaniard can play on clay and considering how well he started the match.
He was up an early break as Wawrinka struggled to find his best rhythm but eventually, the Swiss maestro found it and slowly took over the match. He's the far superior player from the baseline, and it showed quickly once he broke back.
The Swiss veteran won the opening set 6-4 mostly by playing the crucial rallies better. He served pretty well and played better in the crucial moments, doing a lot of damage on the second serve of Carballes Baena. He broke him twice, which proved enough.
The second set saw the Spaniard handle things a bit better, as he didn't allow a single break point for a good part of the set. Both players were very impressive on the serve as Wawrinka actually lost more on his serve than Baena did at 5-5 in the second set.
That was until that moment, and from that moment on, Wawrinka once again upped his level, which resulted in a couple of match points, and he converted the first one to escape in two sets. The final score was 6-4 7-5 for the Swiss veteran, who will face Lorenzo Sonego in the semi-final.
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