Chennai Open: Stan Wawrinka in quarters, Kevin Anderson pulls out

Stan Wawrinka advanced to the quarterfinals of the Chennai Open by beating Russian teenager Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday.

Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka advanced to the quarterfinals of the Chennai Open by beating Russian teenager Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday.

Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland in action against Andrey Rublev of Russia during their second-round match of the Chennai Open on January 6, 2016. (PTI Photo)

Wawrinka, the top seed and two-time defending champion aiming for a fourth title in Chennai, did not face a break point during the match.

“It was the first match of the year for me and it was important to be ready for that,” Wawrinka said. “Every tournament is a challenge and he (Rublev) has very good potential.”

Wawrinka will next face fifth-seeded Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who beat Ante Pavic of Croatia 7-6 (5), 6-1.

Fourth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain also won, beating John Millman of Australia 6-4, 6-1 to set up a match against Borna Coric of Croatia. The 19-year-old Coric defeated Austin Krajicek of the United States 6-2, 7-5.

Also, second-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa withdrew from the tournament with a knee injury after a first-round bye. Alexander Kudryavtsev of Russia replaced him in the draw and will play Ramkumar Ramanathan of India in the second round on Thursday.