GENEVA, May 21, 2016
Stan Wawrinka is the champion of the second edtition of the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open. The world number four defeated Marin Cilic in Saturday’s final 6-4, 7-6.
Wawrinka won 72% of his first service points and captialized on two of his seven break points opportunities to seal victory in one hour and 58 minutes.
The 31-year-old Lausanne native won his third title of the season and first clay-court title of the year in Geneva. Wawrinka has now won 14 tour-level singles titles.
“It’s a dream come true to be able to win a title in Switzerland, after all these tournaments and winning Davis Cup. To be able to do it here in Geneva, in the event’s second year is something special. The fans were great. They made a lot of noise today,” told Wawrinka, who lifted his first trophy on home soil. The Swiss had played for the singles title in Gstaad in 2005 and for the doubles title there in 2004 and 2008 but lost all three times.
“Marin is a great player. Of course he’s had some injury problems of late but he’s the type of player who can always step up against the best in the world. He really ramped up the pressure toward the end, with those set points, so it was nice to be able to finish off the match.”
Cilic made the final in his first tournament since the Miami Open presented by Itau and in his first clay-court tournament of the season. He had been out with a knee injury.
“It was very good today. Playing Stan is never easy. I was expecting a tough match, a tough battle and that’s what happened. I think second set I pushed him really, really hard and I was there, very close to a third set,” said Cilic.
US-Americans Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey claimed the doubles title, winning 6-4, 6-1 against Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram. The encounter lasted 59 minutes.
“It was great to get a win here… We’re both really excited,” told Querrey after their first team title.
“This is my first title, singles or doubles, so I’m excited to get a win… It’s going to be a fun train ride to Paris tonight,” Johnson added.
