Wawrinka gears up to defend title

AUSTRALIAN Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka kickstarts preparations for the year’s first grand slam with his now customary stop-over in India to play in the ATP Chennai Open, starting today.

The Swiss world No 4 makes his seventh appearance in the southern Indian city, this time as the defending champion of the $458 000 (R5.34-million) tournament at the Nungambakkam tennis stadium.

Wawrinka’s victory in Chennai last year sparked an incredible run when he defeated Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and then upset top seed Rafael Nadal in the final to clinch his first grand slam title.

The 29-year-old ended the year by leading Switzerland to their maiden Davis Cup crown, having beaten French No 1 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on the opening day before partnering Roger Federer to victory in the doubles.

“I like Chennai very much,” Wawrinka said.

“The atmosphere is always great and the fans are amazing, that’s why I keep coming back.

“The tournament was a great start to an amazing year in 2014 and I hope it will be the same [this] year.”

Wawrinka, who will defend his Australian Open title in Melbourne from January 19, said he had not set specific goals for this year other than staying fit and playing a consistently good game on all surfaces. “I want to play well and win titles at all levels,” he said.

In Chennai, Wawrinka faces a strong challenge from a predominantly Spanish field that includes world No 14 Feliciano Lopez, No 15 Roberto Bautista-Agut, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Marcel Granollers.

Other leading contenders are Belgium’s David Goffin, Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller, Taiwanese veteran Yen-Hsun Lu and 2014 runner-up Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France.

India’s No 1 Somdev Devvarman, ranked 139th in the world, will spearhead the local challenge after being handed a wild card by the organisers. – AFP