In the heat of the moment, locked in a suddenly tight match after midnight at Flushing Meadows, Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka snapped at a rowdy spectator, telling him to 'Shut up'
Stanislas Wawrinka
New York: In the heat of the moment, locked in a suddenly tight match after midnight at Flushing Meadows, Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka snapped at a rowdy spectator, telling him to "Shut up." An hour later, his 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1) victory over 91st-ranked Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil in the second round of the U.S. Open complete, Wawrinka was able to laugh about the exchange.
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"At the end of the day, they start to get a little bit drunk," Wawrinka said at his news conference, shaking his head and chuckling. "It was OK. I had to talk to a few of them. At the end, it's normal. ... Everybody was into the match. That's OK. It can happen." In a match that began on Wednesday and finished after 12:30 a.m.
Stanislas Wawrinka celebrates his win over Thomaz Bellucci during their US Open 2014 match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Center on Wednesday. Pic/AFP
Thursday, the third-seeded Wawrinka quickly built a two-set lead before faltering a bit, muttering aloud at himself after one miss: "Too many mistakes!" By the time he was in the grind of the fourth set, Wawrinka was talking directly to a fan who was bothering him, turning toward the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands and saying: "Shut up, man! Seriously, shut up."
Once his mind was back on the tennis, Wawrinka was fine. At the outset of the match, Wawrinka explained afterward, "It was comfortable, because I was playing really good tennis. I think I was serving big. I was moving really well and taking the ball early, dictating every point.
That's why it (looked) like not easy, but it (looked) good for me." Bellucci, a left-hander, was ranked as high as 21st in 2010, but arrived in New York with a record of only 11-10 this season. He entered Wednesday with a 5-19 record against opponents ranked in the top 10, including 0-9 on hard courts.
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