Stan Wawrinka has been banging on the door of the big four for a while now. Roger Federer’s fellow Swiss, Wawrinka took timely advantage of big four stalwart Rafa Nadal‘s recent downturn by winning Nadal’s tournament: Wawrinka captured the French Open in June. In a teasing reminder of where he stands among the men’s tennis elite, Wawrinka entered the US Open seeded No. 5.
[Marin Cilic, US Open Defending Champion, Surging Quietly]
He also entered under a cloud of gossipy controversy that some thought would distract him. They were wrong. Wawrinka defeated American Donald Young 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Monday to advance to the US Open quarterfinals. The set he dropped to Young was Wawrinka’s first dropped set of the tournament. He’ll play the winner of Andy Murray – Kevin Anderson next.
