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Wawrinka wins Chennai Open

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Roger Federer might have faltered in Brisbane on Sunday, but not his compatriot. Stanislas Wawrinka, who has lived under the shadow of the Swiss master, mixed power and subtlety to perplex his opponent Edouard Roger-Vasselin and win his second Chennai Open title 7-5, 6-2 without dropping a set.



 The first set made for an engaging contest. The third game went back and forth before the Swiss slapped a backhand return into the net to allow Roger-Vasselin to hold serve following the seventh deuce. As they warmed to the job, the level improved game by game. The crowd longed for a service break as the players looked each other in the eye. The Frenchman was the first to blink.



 Trailing 30-40 in the 11th game, Roger-Vasselin plonked one between the tramlines to allow the world No. 8 take a 6-5 lead. Thereafter, feeding off a slew of errors by his benevolent opponent, Wawrinka finished off the first set.



 Advantage can be a dangerous thing, when one knows it lies on the other side. Gifting Wawrinka a break-point early in the second set, the Frenchman soon found himself lying on his back and gesturing a thumbs-up to his opponent, an acknowledgement of his unplayable backhand return.



 The numbers did finally add up and proved to be the difference. A gap of Grand Canyon proportions - Wawrinka battered 40 winners as opposed to Roger-Vasselin's 13 - told its own tale.



"Wawrinka had an answer to everything I tried," the world No. 52 said after the match. With a match-point his way and the crowd turning restive, Wawrinka just had to thunder down an ace, his fifth of the match.



 The applause grew louder and he looked to the stands and rested a palm beside his ear, asking for more. It was deafening thereafter.




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