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Stanislas Wawrinka is back in Melbourne with the hope of repeating his 2014 run to the Australian Open title. Join The Roar for live scores from around 1:00pm (AEDT) as the reigning champion kicks off his 2015 Open against Marsel Ilhan of Turkey.
It was a dream run and a maiden Grand Slam crown for the Swiss number two at the 2014 Australian Open.
Starting the competition as the eighth seed, Wawrinka had a reasonably soft opening week, as two of his opponents were forced to retire. This meant he had played only nine sets during the first four rounds.
In the quarter finals things got dramatically more difficult, but Wawrinka stepped up to the plate in tremendous fashion.
In the quarter finals he secured what was (at the time) one of the best wins of his career, moving past the number two seed, Novak Djokovic with a 9-7 win in the fifth set.
Clutch play in tie-breakers would see the Swiss man with the sweet back-hand move past Tomas Berdych in four sets in the semi-final, before he faced up against the number one seed, Rafael Nadal – a man battling to stay out on the court – in the final.
Wawrinka made relatively light work of Nadal in that match, winning in four sets following a mini revival from the injured Spaniard in the third set.
Today, Wawrinka begins his title defence against Turkish number one and world number 100, Marsel Ilhan.
Ilhan’s best result at the Australian Open came back in 2010, when he reached the second round. In fact, the 27 year old Turk has never exceeded a second round performance in any of the Grand Slams.
Prediction: Stan ‘The Man’ will be looking to keep his opening round games as stress free and fast as possible as he prepares for a tilt at a second consecutive Australian Open crown.
He should make relatively light work of Ilhan, moving on to the second round without dropping a set.
Join The Roar for live scores of Stan Wawrinka’s opening round match from around 1:00pm (AEDT). If you are following the action live, be sure to share your thoughts in the match in the comments below.
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