NEW YORK: French Open champion Stan Wawrinka outslugged gutsy South Korean teenager Chung Hyeon 7-6(2) 7-6(4) 7-6(6) to reach the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships yesterday.
Wawrinka belted 26 aces and hammered in 62 winners on another sweltering hot day at Flushing Meadows but the 19-year-old Chung held his own against the Swiss fifth seed, ripping 28 winners and winning 21 of 33 forays to the net.
Wawrinka, in his all or nothing, aggressive style, also registered 66 unforced errors against the bespectacled Korean, a 2013 Wimbledon junior finalist who is now ranked 69th.
“It was a really tough match, more than three hours,” said Wawrinka. “I was playing good tennis. He’s a great fighter and not easy to play.”
The 30-year-old Wawrinka, who also has the 2014 Australian Open crown to his credit, next faces Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium, who advanced when American Jack Sock retired due to cramping while leading 6-4 6-4 3-6 1-2.
Sock had looked in control of the match but began to show signs of distress in the third set, then sent a shock through the crowd when he began to cramp and dropped to the court as medical staff rushed to his aid.
The American grimaced in pain as he was wrapped in ice towels with bags of ice also placed around his body.