Wawrinka keeps London hopes alive with win in Basel; Goffin beats Cilic

Stan Wawrinka fired 10 aces and 30 winners to overwhelm fellow veteran Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round of the Swiss Indoors on Wednesday, keeping alive his outside chances of making the ATP Finals.

Wawrinka, who was a runner-up to Andy Murray in Antwerp last weekend, currently stands at 15th in the race for the season-ending showpiece in London with 1,500 rankings points available between Basel and next week’s Paris Masters, the final event of the regular campaign.

Six of the eight spots for the ATP Finals have already been secured.

Wawrinka, 34, ended each set against Uruguay’s 45th-ranked Cuevas with aces, breaking once per set to go through to the second round in 67 minutes.

The seventh seed is playing Basel for the 14th time and improved his record at the event to 12-13. He next takes on Frances Tiafoe of the US.

Sixth seed David Goffin also stayed in the race to London with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic.

Goffin entered this week at provisional 10th in the race and is duelling with Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, who currently stands eighth, and ninth-placed Roberto Bautista Agut. His win in 73 minutes ended a three-match losing streak to Cilic.

Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania lined up a second-round match with third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas after defeating Pablo Andujar 6-1, 6-1.

Filip Krajinovic will next take on fifth seed Fabio Fognini after going past Serb compatriot Laslo Djere, 6-1, 6-4.

Later Wednesday, top seed and nine-time champion Roger Federer faces Radu Albot of Moldova for a place in the quarter-finals.

Elsewhere, Gael Monfils rallied to beat Austrian wild card Dennis Novak 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna on Wednesday.

Monfils hit 13 aces and converted all three break points. He will next face the 18-year-old Sinner, who continued his impressive run by beating German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber on Tuesday.

Sinner beat Monfils last week en route to the semi-finals of the European Open in Antwerp. Monfils added 45 points to his ATP Race To London tally with the first-round win and moved into 12th place in the Race, passing Japan’s Kei Nishikori. Monfils, with 2,215 points, trails Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, who holds the eighth and final qualification spot (2,525 points), by 310 points. Two spots still remain for the season finale, to be held 10-17 November at The O2 in London.

Meanwhile, Judy Murray has hailed son Andy’s stunning comeback from hip surgery to win his first title in more than two years in Antwerp as “a rebirth” for the former world number one.

“If he is well, Andy is capable of anything,” Judy said of his return in an interview with Italian daily newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport on Wednesday.

“In a few days Andy and Kim’s third child should arrive,” she continued.

“We’ll all go to London, great-grandmother included, to celebrate all the events at once. After all, it’s also a rebirth for Andy.”

Three-time Grand Slam winner Murray has been selected for Britain’s Davis Cup squad after beating Wawrinka to win his first tournament since 2017 at the European Open.

It was only the sixth singles event the 32-year-old has competed in since returning from a hip resurfacing operation in January.

“Seeing him suffer has broken my heart,” she said.

“The victory on the court is really a great joy but the greatest triumph was seeing him play without pain and walk without needing crutches.

“There were times when he couldn’t even put on his socks and tie his shoes. Playing Tennis was the least of his problems.”

Agencies