Chennai Open: Wawrinka shows control, class to down Coric for title

CHENNAI: At a dispassionate level, Stan Wawrinka is fast running out of reasons to come back to Chennai. The world No. 4 who won his third straight (and fourth overall) Chennai Open title here on Sunday, got the better of Croatia's Borna Coric 6-3, 7-5 in a contest that lasted a little shy of two hours.
Making his eighth appearance in the tournament, one that he has unwittingly turned into a fiefdom with his thoroughly overpowering performances, Wawrinka unleashed his exquisite one-handed backhand at will, a triumph of artistry and a show of blinding power wrapped in seeming effortlessness.What offers reason to celebrate this quaint and outmoded shot pursued by the likes of Roger Federer, Richard Gasquet, and Feliciano Lopez is the fast dwindling number of its exponents.
When asked if he would come back next year, Wawrinka placed his palm behind his ear, as if seeking a mandate from the crowd before hinting that it would probably boil down to the appearance fee saying, "You have to put more pressure on Tom (tournament director & vice president IMG Tennis)."
At 3-2 in the opening set, Coric sent a backhand into the tramlines before nudging an attempted volley into the net to be broken in sixth game. Making despairing efforts to break back thereafter, the Croat teen flung a down the line backhand with Stan stranded at the net to bring up deuce. A ragged contest followed with Stan dispatching another of his single handed backhands wide to ring in the sixth deuce before battering down an ace. A cross-court winner soon after was all it took for the two-time Grand Slam champion to keep the 19 year-old at bay, moving into a 5-2 lead.
"Borna is a tough opponent and I had to step up my game and focus on every point," Wawrinka reflected after the match. Going level at 5-5 in the second, Coric netted a volley on his serve to fall behind 15-40. The Swiss let out an ill-tempered invective and was promptly handed a warning by the chair umpire before coming good with a backhand down the line. Now, all that was needed was for him to hold serve to take the match. He did so with a practiced flourish.
MARACH-MARTIN WIN DOUBLES TITLE:
Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin dismantled USA's Austin Krajicek and Benoit Paire of France 6-3, 7-5 to win the doubles title here. The Austrian-French combine broke Krajicek-Paire in the eighth game of the first set and followed it up with two more breaks in the second to run away with title.