Mission accomplished for Stan Wawrinka in Prague! The Vaudois logically picked up a title during the ATP restart week.
Stan Wawrinka (ATP 17) won 7-6 (7/2) 6-4 ahead of Russian Aslan Karatsev (ATP 253) in the final of the first of the Challengers organized in the capital of the Czech Republic. He will in principle be in contention in the second before returning to the splendor of the ATP Tour Circuit at the Masters 1000 in Rome.
The idea was to win as many matches as possible while knowing that I am not yet able to play my best tennis.
Stanislas Wawrinka
In the final against a man who had caused the surprise the day before against the French Pierre-Hughes Herbert (ATP 71), Stan Wawrinka had the good taste to pick his first victory of the week in straight sets. He removed the first after earning seven ranking points in the tie-breaker. In the second set, he signed the break in the third game.
Perfectly protected by a first ball which offered him 10 aces and behind which he lost only 4 points out of the 41 disputed, Stan Wawrinka was never really in danger. Even if this title was picked up against opponents ranked respectively at 178th, 217th, 127th, 405th and 253th ATP places, the Vaudois had the immense merit of keeping his rank in Prague, even if it means sometimes wearing the warm blue.
