Stanislas Wawrinka

Stanislas Wawrinka signalled his French Open ambitions by beating Roger Federer 4-6 7-6 (5) 6-2 in an all-Swiss Monte Carlo Masters final yesterday.

Third seed and Australian Open champion Wawrinka recovered from the loss of the opening set to claim his maiden Masters title on the Monte Carlo clay just six weeks before the May 25-June 8 grand slam tournament in Paris.

“I am really happy, after having won a first grand slam title to win a Masters, it’s outstanding,” Wawrinka said in a courtside interview.

“Roger, you’re the best player ever, it’s always special for me to play against you and I hope we will have a great year you and me.”

Federer, whose only defeat in 14 previous matches against Wawrinka was in Monte Carlo in 2009, said: “I had a great week. Congratulations to Stan, I hope it will continue for you like that for years.”

Fourth seed Federer, who beat an injured Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, was his brilliant old self for almost an hour but the 17-times grand slam champion was eventually overwhelmed by his opponent’s power.

Wawrinka played with great depth as Federer was eventually pushed back far from his baseline and was prevented from attacking.

Fed Cup
Semi-final results: Czech Republic bt Italy 4-0; Germany bt Australia 3-1.