PARIS. — World number four Stan Wawrinka snapped a three-game losing streak yesterday as he qualified for the last 16 of the Paris Masters tennis tournament with a 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) victory over Dominic Thiem.
The Swiss 29-year-old came through a tight match in 1hr 36min against the Austrian, to book a meeting with big-serving South African Kevin Anderson.

“I’m trying to find my confidence, I have some victories but I know that my level of game is there. What I still miss is winning matches,” said Wawrinka, who won his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January and admitted he was somewhat surprised by his recent rise into the top five. “I’m so happy, I didn’t think I would be able to be ranked so high, but I had ups and downs. In the summer I didn’t play very well and I had bad moments, although I did well in the US Open. “I wouldn’t change anything and I know I have a good level of game. I know things can change quickly; I can lose first round and I can also go very far in a tournament, so the important thing is really to concentrate on improving my level.

“Of course, I can’t have as a goal a final or a semi-final right now, but I am here this week to do everything I can and go as far as I can.”

Meanwhile, Andy Murray moved to within one win of qualifying for the World Tour Finals with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Julien Benneteau at the Paris Masters yesterday.

The Briton (27), who is fifth in the race to qualify for November’s finals, outclassed his French opponent in 71 minutes to reach the third round.

He needs to reach the quarter-finals in France to clinch his place in London.

Murray, who has won three titles in five weeks, will face either Grigor Dimitrov or Pablo Cuevas next round.

Earlier on the third day of the penultimate tournament of the season, Canada’s Milos Raonic kept alive his chances of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals with a tough three-set win over American qualifier Jack Sock.

The number seven seed needs to win the tournament in Paris to guarantee his place in the elite eight-man field to take part in the season finale, which begins in London on November 9.

He scraped through against world number 44 Sock, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7/4) in just over two hours. — AFP.

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