In the first all-Swiss final for 14 years on the ATP World Tour, Stanislas Wawrinka defeated Roger Federer 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 in the final of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. The 29-year-old Wawrinka captured his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title, having previously finished runner-up in Rome 2008 (l. to Djokovic) and Madrid last year (l. to Nadal). With his semi-final victory over David Ferrer Saturday, the Swiss became the 11th active player to record 100 ATP Masters 1000 match wins. Wawrinka is the 59th different winner of an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, breaking up the domination of the ‘Big Four’. In 34 of the past 36 Masters 1000 tournaments, the trophy had been lifted by one of either Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Federer or Andy Murray. The only exceptions came at the BNP Paribas Masters in 2010 (Robin Soderling) and 2012 (Ferrer). Read: How The Final Was Won It was just Wawrinka’s second win in 15 meetings with Federer (2-13 FedEx ATP Head2Head series). His other victory over Federer also came at the Monte-Carlo Country Club, five years ago. As victor, Wawrinka received 1000 Emirates ATP Ranking points and $549,000 in prize money. He was presented with the trophy by His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Charlene of Monaco. Victory for Wawrinka sees the Lausanne native maintain his grip on World No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. On Monday, he will leapfrog Nadal, Djokovic and Federer to rise to No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, which is based solely on results this season. The top eight in the Emirates ATP Race To London at the end of the regular season will qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Wawrinka qualified for the elite season finale for the first time last year, reaching the semi-finals (l. to Djokovic). Wawrinka becomes the first player this season to win three tour-level titles, adding to victories in Chennai (d. Roger-Vasselin) and at the Australian Open, where he defeated Nadal to win his first Grand Slam championship. The 32-year-old Federer was looking to win the elusive Monte-Carlo trophy for the first time after finishing runner-up to Nadal three times from 2006-’08. The Swiss has won 21 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles, with his last triumph coming in August 2012 in Cincinnati.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Apr 2014 17:02:40 +0000
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