An ugly win is still a win, says Wawrinka

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Stan Wawrinka was not fully convincing in his four-set victory against Serbian Viktor Troicki but the fourth seed refused to fuss over the nature of his win after securing his place in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Friday.

Wawrinka produced an error-ridden first set, then had two opportunities to serve out for the match in the fourth only to be broken by the 29th-seed, who also then saved a match point,

The Swiss then advanced with a 3-6 6-2 6-2 7-6(7) victory.

The 31-year-old U.S. Open champion was not prepared to dwell on the issues he had in putting away the Serb, instead preferring to put the result in the win column and begin preparations for fourth round opponent Andreas Seppi.

“It doesn’t matter the way you’re playing, especially the beginning of a grand slam. It doesn’t change anything,” Wawrinka told reporters.

“The goal is to win those matches. I don’t really care if I play really well, well, or okay. I want to win. I want to get through those matches. I want to go as far as possible.

“That’s what matters at the end of the day.”

Wawrinka’s uncomplicated approach has been evident for a number of years.

While he remembers the victories, like at Melbourne Park in 2014 when he clinched his first grand slam title, he has stated numerous times that last year’s performance has no relevance to this year’s.

He also does not take an overly analytical approach to the draw, telling reporters before the tournament that while he may look at who is playing who, he can not worry about a potential fourth round clash if he does not get past the first.

Despite having won the previous seven encounters against Troicki, the Serb could have been exactly one of those opponents he could have lost to had he not focused on the match.

Wawrinka was broken three times by the Serb in the first set alone while he committed twice as many (14) unforced errors as the 30-year-old from Belgrade.

The Swiss, however, adjusted to the windy conditions and felt by the end he was playing well and had rhythm, despite having some blips when he served for the match at 5-4 and 6-5 in the fourth set then dropped a match point in the tiebreak.

“Yeah, it was not always the best tennis, but … I’m really happy just to get through,” Wawrinka said.

“(It) was close. Tough tiebreak for sure. Served twice for the match. But it’s not a big deal.

“At the end I won in four sets. I’m still here.”

(Writing by Greg Stutchbury in Wellington; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty/Sudipto Ganguly)