World number eight Stanislas Wawrinka has warmed up for the Australian Open by bagging the ATP Chennai Open title with a fluent victory over Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
The top-seeded Swiss, playing his 500th ATP Tour match, outclassed the 52nd-ranked Frenchman 7-5, 6-2 in the 90-minute final on Sunday at the Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium.
It was the fifth career title and the second in Chennai for 28-year-old Wawrinka, who emerged from the shadows of his renowned Swiss compatriot Roger Federer with a top-10 finish last year.
“This is big for sure,” said Wawrinka, who has a 302-198 career win record.
“It has been an amazing week for me and put me in the right frame for the Australian Open.
“I have practised hard and tried to improve my game. This is just the first tournament of the year, I hope I can continue this way.”
The morale-boosting win ahead of the year’s first Grand Slam in Melbourne, starting January 13, earned Wawrinka the winner’s purse of $US72,490 ($A81,600) and 250 ranking points.
The first set lasted an hour as both players held serve till the 10th game, before Wawrinka broke through in the 11th with a backhand cross-court shot that left Roger-Vasselin stranded.
The Frenchman, playing only his second final in a 12-year career, lost his serve in the opening game of the second set and then again in the fifth game before Wawrinka served out the match with an ace.
Wawrinka won the title without dropping a set during a bruising week in which six players, including second seed Mikhail Youzhny of Russia and third seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy, were sidelined due to injury.
A seventh player, defending champion Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, withdrew before the tournament began due to a heel injury.
Roger-Vasselin said he will leave Chennai with mixed feelings as he heads for a tournament in Sydney later on Sunday night.
“This is a bit of a heartbreak for sure,” said the 30-year-old.
“It was very disappointing to lose the final but there was little I could do to change that.
“Stan was too good for me and deserved to win. I tried my best, did everything that I could. But then I had just one breakpoint in the whole match.”
