Stan Wawrinka produced one of the best performances of his comeback season Wednesday night in Cincinnati, defeating Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-4 to record just his 10th match win of the year.
The Swiss three-time Grand Slam champion moved nimbly and struck his trademark backhand with conviction to set up a third-round meeting with Marton Fucsovics, whom Wawrinka beat last week in a third-set tie-break in Toronto.
Wawrinka showed signs of returning to something approaching peak form last week at the Rogers Cup when he defeated Nick Kyrgios in the first round and pushed eventual champion Rafael Nadal in a 7-5, 7-6(4) loss in the third round.
The 33-year-old continues the hard work to rebuild his ranking following two left knee surgeries in 2017. Currently at No. 151, Wawrinka needed a wild card into Cincinnati and has also been awarded one at the US Open, which begins 27 August.
Nishikori grabbed the early break in the first set but Wawrinka claimed back-to-back breaks in the latter stages of the first set and a third consecutive break in the opening game of the second to break open the matchread full article
