Queen's 2015: Stan Wawrinka knocked out by Kevin Anderson
- Published
Aegon Championships |
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Venue: Queen's Club, London. Dates: 15-21 June. |
Coverage: Live on BBC TV, Red Button, Radio 5 live sports extra, online, tablets, mobiles and sport app. |
French Open champion Stan Wawrinka has been knocked out by Kevin Anderson in round two of the Aegon Championships.
The Swiss second seed, 30, struggled against Anderson's big serve, falling to a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (13-11) defeat.
Wawrinka saved five match points and missed a simple forehand to win the second set before Anderson sealed victory with a 22nd ace.
Canadian third seed Milos Raonic saw off Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 at Queen's Club.
Anderson was delighted with his win over Wawrinka.
"He's a terrific player, so it means a lot to me," said the South African.
He will now face Guillermo Garcia-Lopez after the Spaniard's 6-3 7-6 (7-4) victory over Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, the man who upset Rafael Nadal in the first round.
Build-up to Wimbledon |
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Stan staying put
Wawrinka plans to stay in the country in readiness for Wimbledon, which begins on 29 June, rather than returning to Switzerland.
"I'm trying to find the right balance between resting and practice," he said. "It's quite hard mentally. Physically, also, but especially mentally.
"I'm sure I'm going to have some days off after Wimbledon, so I need to do the best I can to be ready. That's all that matters for me."
Anderson was also the first man to beat Wawrinka after the Swiss won his first Grand Slam title in Australia last year.
"I guess that's a funny coincidence," said the South African, who beat Wawrinka in Miami last March.
Distracted by Jeremy Clarkson
Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, 19, lost 6-4 6-2 to seventh seed Gilles Simon and said he may have been slightly star-struck by the presence of former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson.
"I got distracted a little bit," admitted the teenager.
"I looked over when I was down a set and double break. I've got to do better than that really. At least I saw some important faces in the crowd."
One Direction's Liam Payne was also in the crowd, but Kokkinakis failed to spot the popstar and hearthrob.
Murray and Inglot test doubles dynamic
Andy Murray might have had a day off from singles competition but he kept himself busy with in the doubles with Dom Inglot on Court One.
Top seeds Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares served for the match in the second set only for Peya to double-fault three times.
But the British pair eventually went down 6-4 7-6 (7-3) but could be in line for a Davis Cup call-up on the same Queen's Club grass court when Britain play France the week after Wimbledon.
French captain Arnaud Clement was an interested spectator courtside.
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