BNP Paribas Open: Testy exchange follows after Stan Wawrinka overcomes Holger Rune

It took Stan Wawrinka an hour longer than he would have preferred, but the 37-year old survived a long three-set match and the talents of 19-year old Holger Rune 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 for a third-round win Monday at the BNP Paribas Open.

In front of a raucous Stadium 2 crowd that was rooting for Wawrinka in a match between two players with some contentious history, Wawrinka had two chances to close out the match in the second set, including one match point, only to have Rune fight back from the deficit and a sore right shoulder and neck. Wawrinka won the first four points of the tiebreaker, but Rune rallied to win seven of the next eight points to force the third set.

In the third set, the duo stayed on serve until Wawrinka broke Rune to take a 6-5 lead. The Swiss star then closed out the match to win his third consecutive ATP 1000 match for the first time since 2020. The match extended to 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Wawrinka had previously said that Rune acted like a baby in an indoor hardcourt match in Paris last year between the two, and Rune certainly talked to the chair umpire, his coaches and even egged on the crowd at times on Monday.

Following the match, there was a testy exchange at the net between Wawrinka and Rune after they shook hands.

“Good game, you OK?” Wawrinka asked.

Lune replied, “You got nothing to say now? You got nothing to say now?”

Wawrinka then replied “What do you want me to say?” before turning around and acknowledging the crowd.

After his victory, Wawrinka praised Rune as a talented young player while expressing delight over surviving the third set.

“It’s special to keep winning. For me it was important to stay there at the end because I was playing well. I am playing well,” said Wawrinka, who recorded the 550th win of his career. “I really enjoy with such a great atmosphere.”

Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland runs up for a return to Holger Rune of Denmark during third-round their match at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif., Monday, March 13, 2023.

Wawrinka said it was important to remain steady in the closing games. That was especially true after having lost a match while holding a match point at the Australian Open earlier this year.

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“I knew there was only one way, that’s to keep fighting,” Wawrinka said.

Caroline Garcia vs. Leylah Fernandez: Garcia of France may have moved into the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open on Monday, but the fifth seed struggled at times against a game Fernandez of Canada, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1.

Garcia, ranked fifth in the world and the champion of the WTA Finals last year, has now played back-to-back three-set matches at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. But she has secured a next match against Sorana Cirstea of Romania, who won a battle of unseeded players over Bernarda Pera of the United States, 6-3, 6-1, on Monday.

Garcia won the first set on Stadium 1 comfortably, but then Fernandez took the lead in the second set and eventually pushed the set to a tiebreaker. In a back-and-forth tiebreaker, Garcia held off on set point but couldn’t hold off the second, with Fernandez winning the second on a strong backhand crosscourt pass.

Carolina Garcia of France hits to Leylah Fernandez of Canada during their third-round match at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif., Monday, March 13, 2023.

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But that was the last big moment in the match for Fernandez as Garcia cruised by winning the final five games of the match.

Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Francisco Cerundolo: In a match where the winner both took advantage of his powerful serve but also was a victim of that serve, eighth-seeded Auger-Aliassime of Canada was stretched to more than two hours before closing out a 7-5, 6-4 victory over No. 27-seed Cerundolo.

Auger-Aliassime had six aces in the match compared to just two for Cerundolo, but the winner also had eight double faults against just three for Cerundolo. Even in the final game of the second set on Stadium 3, Auger-Aliassime struggled to close out the match, being pushed to four match points before advancing to the fourth round. Auger-Aliassime will face American Tommy Paul, an upset winner over No. 9-seed Hubert Hurkacz.

Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime practices during day two of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif., on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.

Elena Rybakina vs. Paula Badosa: Badosa, an unseeded player but the 2021 BNP Paribas Open champion, ran into a red-hot Rybakina in the third round, with Rybakina taking a 6-3, 7-5 victory on Stadium 1.

Rybakina is the reigning Wimbledon champion and played like it against Badosa, who followed up her 2021 win in Indian Wells with a semifinal appearance in 2022. Rybakina will face the winner of the match between No. 8 Daria Kasatkina and qualifier Varvara Gracheva.

Desirae Krawczyk-Demi Schurrs vs. Magda Linete-Caty McNally: Krawcyyk, the Palm Desert High School graduate, and her partner Schurrs lost a tense tiebreaker 11-9 to fall out of the doubles draw of the BNP Paribas Open. Krawcyyk and Schurrs won the first set 6-4, but Linette of Poland and McNally of the United States won the second set 6-1, setting up the tiebreaker.

Men’s Singles Round of 32

Tommy Paul (17), United States, def. Hubert Hurkacz (9), Poland, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Felix Auger-Aliassime (8), Canada, def. Francisco Cerundolo (27), Argentina, 7-5, 6-4.

Stan Wawrinka, Switzerland, def. Holger Rune (7), Denmark, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5.

Taylor Fritz (4), United States, def. Sebastian Baez (30), Argentina, 6-1, 6-2.

Marton Fucsovics, Hungary, def. Alex Molcan, Slovakia, 6-4, 6-2.

Women’s Singles Round of 32

Sorana Cirstea, Romania, def. Bernarda Pera, United States, 6-3, 6-1.

Caroline Garcia (5), France, def. Leylah Annie Fernandez (30), Canada, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1.

Karolina Muchova, Czech Republic, def. Martina Trevisan (23), Italy, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

Elena Rybakina (10), Kazakhstan, def. Paula Badosa (21), Spain, 6-3, 7-5.

Emma Raducanu, Britain, def. Beatriz Haddad Maia (13), Brazil, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.

Men’s Doubles Round of 16

Rohan Bopanna, India, and Matthew Ebden, Australia, def. Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria, and Hubert Hurkacz, Poland, walkover.

Edouard Roger-Vasselin, France, and Santiago Gonzalez, Mexico, def. Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic (4), Croatia, 6-7 (8), 7-6 (5), 11-9.

Women’s Doubles Round of 16

Magda Linette, Poland, and Caty McNally, United States, def. Demi Schuurs, Netherlands, and Desirae Krawczyk (4), United States, 4-6, 6-1, 11-9.

Aldila Sutjiadi, Indonesia, and Miyu Kato, Japan, def. Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff (2), United States, 6-4, 4-6, 12-10.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: BNP Paribas Open: Testy exchange follows after Stan Wawrinka beats Holger Rune