Swiss star Stan Wawrinka showcased a masterful performance on Friday, overcoming top seed Andrey Rublev with a 7-6(5), 7-6(5) victory to advance to the semi-finals at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open in Stockholm.
Wawrinka stood strong in two tie-breaks to clinch a victory in one hour and 52 minutes, marking his first win over a Top 10 player from the PIF ATP Rankings since August 2023.
The ex-World No. 3, Wawrinka, fired 14 aces past Rublev, as per Infosys ATP Stats, taking a 3-2 lead in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
Tommy Paul, the fourth seed and 2021 Stockholm champion, awaits the three-time major champion in Saturday’s semi-finals after his own victory over Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6(9), 6-2.
With this achievement, 39-year-old Wawrinka becomes the third-oldest semi-finalist in ATP Tour history since 1990, trailing only Jimmy Connors and Ivo Karlovic.
Rublev’s loss to Wawrinka poses a challenge to his aspiration of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fifth consecutive year. Currently World No. 7, he holds the eighth spot in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, with the four contenders right behind him still in action at ATP 250 events this week.
Among them is the 11th-ranked Paul, who fended off a set point at 7/8 in the tie-break against Kecmanovic to secure his win in the Stockholm quarter-finals. The American, aiming for his first Nitto ATP Finals appearance, trails Rublev by 645 points.
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