Stanislas Wawrinka claims Dubai title after epic tie-break

Stan Wawrinka, clad in a cocktail of colours -sunshine yellow and shocking pink -looking like someone who had taken a dip in a paint box, was the one who strung it together in the semifinal match-up against Nick Kyrgios at the Dubai Duty Free tennis championships.

The world number one had lost the first set against Spain’s Feliciano Lopez when he chose to retire, the day after achieving his 700th career win.

While the straight-sets result may be just, the surging Baghdatis put up a tremendous fight on Saturday and can hope for more finals to come in the near future if he can replicate the standards shown this past week.

The 20-year-old Kyrgios became the youngest active player to win an ATP Tour title, at Marseille last week.

“The back problem has been bothering me in the last couple of days, to be honest”. From that point, Wawrinka won the final five games.

A match low on quality – with 79 unforced errors – caught fire late in the second set culminating in an epic tie break that Wawrinka clinched 15-13 after a string of missed opportunities for Baghdatis. I apologise to all the people who came to watch the match.

While Baghdatis thrilled the fans with his band of exciting tennis, Kyrgios’ retirement from the first semis definitely dampened the spirits of those who wanted to witness a contest between the French Open champion and a player touted as the future world number one. I want to be in the final and have a chance to get the trophy.

Kyrgios collapsed in the second set as he dropped to 0-3 before stopping play due to his back pain.

The Cypriot was chasing a first ATP title since 2010 but it proved to be beyond him as Wawrinka’s superior consistency was enough to suppress his opponent, who offered only minor glimpses of the irrepressible talent he can produce on occasions.

Yesterday, rising Australian star Nick Kyrgios walked off the court injured in his first match against nemesis Stan Wawrinka since his infamous sex sledge against the Swiss. I don’t have any injuries and health problems that I had.

Second seed Wawrinka had to break in the final game of the first set against Kohlschreiber after twice losing leads.

“He was the better player today I think the first two sets”, said Baghdatis.

“If you look from the beginning of the week I was not playing great at all”, Wawrinka said.

“I’m happy I improved this week, not playing some great tennis, frustrated during matches but still fighting and trying to find solutions to win more matches to play better. I’m moving better, I’m a little bit more relaxed and my strokes are going better”, the Swiss added.

“But I think it’s how the person feels”.