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Wawrinka: Johnson is a tough opponent

Even though he made quite a few mistakse and finsihed with 9 double faults, Wawrinka managed to force his rhythm upon Lajovic to make him take even more risk than usual. Johnson won both tie-breaks to avoid another 5-set match but he never played Wawrinka, not even in a practice session

When talking about the meeting with Wawrinka, Lajovic was honest and said a lot will come down to the Swiss, which happened in the end. But even players with better ranking that Lajovic can say that when meeting Wawrinka. When he gets in the court and in the shots, the player on the other side of the net does not have a say. The Swiss finished with 11 aces and 9 double faults this time. He fired 53 winners and recorded 52 unforced errors. He was at one moment the top player who won Australian Open and then someone who loses to average players. The top-level Wawrinka won in the end and Lajovic explained best why that happened: 

- He forced me to be more aggressive than I normally am. He has his rhythm. He often just barely fires the ball back and then starts attacking. He's the greatest danger when hitting the ball full power. He sucked me into his rhythm and I couldn't do anything about it.

The first time Wawrinka lost his serve was in the second set but he was already in a huge lead after converting two break points. Lajovic allowed Wawrinka to get back into the third set twice and then converted another break point when the Swiss served for the tie-break. Lajovic won the set but that seemed to have motivated Wawrinka even more. He took a 5-1 lead in the fourth set, then lost a service game but then finished the match through another break.

- It was a good win. In general, when I open the match well I play well till the end. I had some minor problems with my serve, there were some ups and downs but the win is the most important thing - Wawrinka said and turned to his next opponent:

- Johnson is a tough player. I know that even though we never met before. He's tough and serves great but we'll see if he can do the same on clay court. I've never seen him in these conditions and I'll have to watch one of his previous matches. 

The American didn't tie any wins until Paris despite playing 5 tournaments. He came to Europe right after Houston, which is not usual for American players. On the other hand, he's not your typical American. His game is typical, his serve and forehand are his greatest weapon as for most Americans. But he has never had the ego of some of his compactors. Maybe because he was a university player. He first knocked out Garcia-Lopez here, which calls for respect, and then had quite a few problems with Stakhovksi but beat him in the end.

The Ukrainian won the first set an converted a break point in the second one but then won only 2 more games in that set. Despite his bad tie-break record (23-33), the American managed to displayed mental power and win both tie-breaks. The last one was particularly interesting as he failed to use the match point on his serve but use the next one against Stakovsky's serve. 

- He opened the match better. He caught me off-guard a bit but I found rhythm in the second set. I made a stupid mistake in the third one but managed to stay calm in tie-break. I'm more mature and that shows, especially in matches like this one - Johnson said and added:

- I would have been very happy with Paris third round a few years ago but it's different now. I believe in myself and I want more. I know who Wawrinka is very well. We never played or even practiced together but I know he's the favorite. Regardless of that, I will step out on the court to win.

The respect is mutual and that it obvious. Johnson isn't nearly as talented as Wawrinka but his simply game-plan is more efficient. He know how to play rhythm-less matches, isn't afraid to fire powerful shots and doesn't have too many ups and downs. Wawrinka is always special and let's just repeat what he said. If he opens the match well he normally plays well until the end. 

Wawrinka played a good match against Lajovic, who allowed him to control the game. Wawrinka had some ups and downs as he basically gave away some games when in a 5-1 lead in second and forth set. Johnson keeps on playing well. His performances started in Madrid where he lost to Nadal. Fognini beat him in Rome, while he beat good clay court player Garcia-Lopez here and then went past Stakhovsky. The American has a powerful serve, good forehand and game on the ent which is what I expect of Lajovic (aggressive tennis). I expect Johnson to be good in his service games which means this handicap is too big again. Johnson is not bad in defending either - Wawrinka will not be able to win points easily because Johnson can fire back a lot of shots. He will force Wawrinka into extra shots that might end in a miss sometimes. The match is to be played at Court 1 which doesn't have a lot of room behind baseline and Wawrinka likes to wait for the serve well behind the baseline against good servers. This can be covered through one break per set and it's possible that 4 sets will be played. In any way, +7.5 should be enough for this tip to be successful.