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Blast from the past: When Federer's friend Wawrinka won Dubai Duty Free Tennis title

Wawrinka's brilliant career continued to prosper as he won two titles that year after Dubai, including the US Open

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Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland poses with the trophy in 2016. — KT file

By Joy Chakravarty

Published: Fri 3 Mar 2023, 12:26 AM

It would have looked cruel if Stanislas Wawrinka, the Swiss tennis star, one of the closest friends of eight-time champion Roger Federer, did not win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships even once.

But the man with a silken backhand, got his win in Dubai, in a year when Federer wasn’t playing. It was just his second appearance in the championship, having lost in the opening round in 2008. It also marked the ninth time Wawrinka was in an ATP Tour final, and the then world No4 continued his streak of never losing when he reached a final.

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Wawrinka, who was the top seed in the tournament, had to battle through some tough matches to reach the final, including in the opening round when he was two points away from losing to Sergiy Stakhovsky. He also had a couple of tough matches against Philipp Kohlschreiber and Nick Kyrgios, before his 6-4, 7-6 (13) win against Marcos Baghdatis.

Stan’s brilliant career continued to prosper as he won two titles that year after Dubai, including the US Open. However, he has suffered because of injuries after that – two left knee surgeries in 2017, followed by two left foot surgeries in 2021.

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Joy Chakravarty

Published: Fri 3 Mar 2023, 12:26 AM

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