Quarterfinal play was kicked off on Day 10 of the French Open. With an all-Swiss showdown, a hometown favorite, and a wide open section in the women’s quarters, the day of play was surely going to be an exciting one. Despite the exciting day of tennis, the day was marred with debris falling from Chatrier and a controversial call in the all-Swiss affair. This is your Day 10 French Open Recap.

Scintillating Stan Stuns Faulty Federer

With a 2-16 record against his fellow countryman and friend Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka knew he had to do something different against him. Well this time, he did do something different, he stuck to it. From the start of the match, Wawrinka stayed aggressive keeping Federer on the defensive throughout the whole match in a shocking straight sets win 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(4). Wawrinka converted the lone break from the combined eight chances from each man in the opening set giving him lead and eventually the set. Much is often noted about how Wawrinka’s one-hander is the best in the game, but today it was the much-improved forehand of his that was doing the talking. Ever since his famous showdown in the fourth round of the Australian Open against Novak Djokovic, the forehand from Stan the Man had been just as good or even better than his backhand wing.

In the first set, he hit 12 winners off the forehand wing. The second set was just as good from eighth-seeded Swiss. Despite only getting 40 percent of first serves in, his attacking mentality kept him in many points in which his counterpart was serving and ended up winning nearly half of those points. Two breaks of serve for Wawrinka in the second, and all of a sudden, he was a set away from a second consecutive Grand Slam semifinal. Even though he was down two sets to love, Federer was not willing to back down in the third set. Neither man sniffed a break point and both were in the double digits for winners as a tiebreak would be needed to decide the third set. Controversy struck at three-all when a call was overturned, and the point was given to Wawrinka. The call looked to stop Federer from making advances on the ball, but the chair umpire was not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. That gave Wawrinka the opening he needed to take the breaker and the match. It was a subdued celebration for him due to the respect he has for his fellow countryman, but on the inside, Stan was elated for what was one of the biggest wins of his career.

Tsonga Wins Thriller On Crumbling Chatrier

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About the author
Noel John Alberto
Filipino-American sports journalist from Toms River, NJ. UMBC Graduate and aspiring physical therapist. Tennis editor and multi-sport coordinator for VAVEL USA. Writer for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Serie A sections of VAVEL UK. Sports aficionado. Host of the On The Line tennis podcast.