St. Petersburg Open: Alexander Zverev stuns Stan in final; Paes loses
In a major upset, reigning US Open champion Stan Wawrinka was subjected to a shock defeat by 19-year old Alexander Zverev in the final of the St. Petersburg Open on Sunday. Meanwhile, Leander Paes and his partner Andre Begemann faltered at the final hurdle in the men’s doubles event.
The finals started off on a bright note, as the German quickly cruised into the lead, breaking Wawrinka’s serve twice along the way and eventually won the set 6-2. In the second set, however, the world number three dominated his opponent to equalize things winning it 6-3. However, it wasn’t all easy pickings for Stan as the final set went right down to the wire. In the end, the World number 26-ranked youngster held his nerve as he clinched the final set 7-5 and claimed his maiden ATP World Tour title playing in only his third final.
The 31-year old Swiss veteran, on the other hand, was gunning for his fifth ATP World Tour title of the season and his 16th overall. This was also Wawrinka’s only second loss in an ATP final since his loss back in June 2013.
Meanwhile, in the men’s doubles final played earlier, Indian tennis veteran, Leander Paes and his partner, Andre Begemann, faltered at the final hurdle, despite being ahead at the end of the first set. The Indo-German pair fought hard against the tournament top seeds, Dominic Inglot and Henri Kontinen, before losing the third set tie-break, and eventually the match with a 6-4, 3-6, 10-12 scoreline.
This was also the first time in the entire tournament that the Paes-Begemann duo had dropped a set. The Indian, though, continued his long wait for the ATP men’s doubles title. He last won a men’s doubles tournament at the 2015 New Zealand Open, partnering South Africa’s Raven Klaasen.