US Open champion Stan Wawrinka was beaten by Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 in the final of the St Petersburg Open on Sunday. This was Zverev’s first ATP World Tour title win after playing two finals this season in Halle and Nice.
It took the German two hours and 23 minutes to get past the Swiss in a match that saw momentum shift in frequent games. Zverev bagged the first set 6-2, but Wawrinka immediately took the second 3-6. The third and final set went down to the wire with Zverev making the winning return in the end.
“This victory is something special,” Zverev said. “I played all the finals well. I lost to Dominic Thiem on clay and I could have won against Florian Mayer on the grass... Now I'm very happy with the win, especially over such a great player like Stan.”
The loss ends two winning streaks for Wawrinka. One streak is that of tournament finals, which ends at 11 and started in January 2014 at the Chennai Open, and the second was Wawrinka's overall win streak of 10, dating back to his first-round match at the US Open.
“We showed high-quality tennis,” Wawrinka said. “I was struggling in the third set. I had chances but I didn't manage to convert them. He deserved the win.”