Stan Wawrinka raises his game to defeat Tomic

Stan Wawrinka returns the ball to Bernard Tomic during their second round tennis match at the ATP World Tour Masters in Paris. Picture: AFP/Getty Images

French Open champion Stan Wawrinka raised his game when he needed to yesterday to beat Bernard Tomic and reach the third round of the Paris Masters. Wawrinka, who is bidding to become the first player to win Roland Garros and the Paris Masters in the same year since Andre Agassi in 1999, saved all five break points and hit 13 aces to progress with a 6-3, 7-6 (6) win.

The fourth-seeded Swiss had to come from 5-2 down in the tiebreaker before sealing the match when the 18th-ranked Tomic hit two consecutive unforced errors.

“I was not in a good position, that’s for sure,” Wawrinka said. “I played one good point, aggressive, then he missed an easy forehand, and you’re back.”

Wawrinka, who has never advanced past the quarter-finals at the indoor tournament, will next face either 15th-seeded Feliciano Lopez or Viktor Troicki.

David Ferrer, the 2012 champion, also progressed to the third round by beating Alexandr Dogolpolov 6-2, 6-2.

Qualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin ended Ivo Karlovic’s chances of breaking the single-season record for aces. Karlovic hit 29 aces but lost 4-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (5), ending his season with 1,447 aces.

Goran Ivanisevic holds the record with 1,477 aces, set in 1996.

Karlovic had lost his last nine deciding-set tiebreakers going into the match.