Stanislas Wawrinka has progressed through to the third round of the Australian Open after he recorded a four-set victory over Alejandro Falla.
The number eight seed was in dominant form during the first two sets, before Falla launched a fightback in the third by edging out the Swiss player in a tie-break.
However, despite a valiant effort in the fourth, Falla wilted at the conclusion of the set to allow Wawrinka to secure a 6-3 6-3 6-7 6-4 success.
Read below to see how the action unfolded in Melbourne.
Hello, and welcome to Sports Mole's coverage of the Australian Open second round match between Stanislas Wawrinka and Alejandro Falla.
After another day of boiling temperatures in Melbourne, the evening session of day three brings a tasty encounter between the number eight seed and flamboyant Colombian Alejandro Falla, who many will remember for losing a two-set lead against Roger Federer in the first round of Wimbledon in 2010. I'm expecting some excellent rallies in this match!
Wawrinka has always been considered as one of the most dangerous players on tour, but it wasn't until this tournament 12 months ago that he really emerged as a big threat to the top four in the rankings, losing to Novak Djokovic 12-10 in a deciding set. He then went on to reach the semi-finals of the US Open, again losing to Djokovic in five sets, and the Swiss will be aiming to move through to a quarter-final showdown with the Serbian player later in the tournament.
Remarkably, this is the first meeting between these two players. Let's see what this one throws up! It will be Wawrinka to serve first. Game on!
There's a decent crowd on the Margaret Court Arena for this encounter, with plenty of Swiss and Colombian supporters in attendance. Wawrinka goes 30-0 up after Falla nets twice, but three errors from the Swiss gift the left-hander an early break point. That's saved with a big second serve, before two brutal baseline shots see Wawrinka hold serve.
Falla begins impressively, wrong-footing Wawrinka from the baseline for a 30-0 advantage. A couple of errors then follow from the eighth seed, and Falla looks the more settled of the two players so far.
Wow, that took about 45 seconds! Wawrinka speeds through a love-service game to regain his early advantage. The crowd are into this match already.
BREAK! There's trouble for Falla, after he misfires with successive shots to gift 0-30 to Wawrinka. The Swiss then steps in to put away an easy volley for three break points, but the first is saved when he can't handle a return. A second is easily saved too, but Wawrinka breaks when Falla throws in a double fault. Will that halt his early momentum?
The speed at which this match is being played is relentless. Falla is looking dangerous with his returns, and he opens up a 15-30 lead, but Wawrinka fires back with an excellent cross-court winner. The next two points are dominated by the Swiss, and he has a 4-1 lead after just 14 minutes on court.
Falla simply must hold serve here, or the set is as good as gone. He starts poorly with a tame shot into the net, but a fine serve-and-volley help him move to 30-15. The Colombian is leaving nothing behind his shots, but he's making more errors than winners, and Wawrinka has deuce. He remains composed, though, and two quick points keep it to just a solitary break.
Wawrinka looks like a man on a mission this evening. A stunning forehand winner into the corner take him to game point, and he holds to love when Falla can't return another hard hit from the baseline.
Falla opens up with two wonderfully-constructed points, but Wawrinka halves the deficit with another winner. I don't think that we've had a drop shot yet! A whipped cross-court forehand helps Falla to game point, before Wawrinka misses an attempted backhand winner by inches. However, he will now serve for the first set,
SET! The first two points are shared, before Wawrinka sends down the first ace of the match. The number eight seed then comes out on top after going toe-to-toe with the Colombian from the baseline, and he has two set points. He goes for glory with another stupendous backhand, but it just misses his target, but on the second set opportunity, Falla loops a shot long, and his higher-ranked opponent has the advantage.
You feel as though Falla needs a positive start to this set or else his confidence will wilt rather quickly. Wawrinka moves to 15-30 with a powerful forehand down the line, but the Colombian hangs tough to take the next three points, with the game being sealed when Wawrinka netted a return.
You could already produce a pretty decent highlight reel for this match. The pair trade winners from the baseline, before Falla nets twice in succession to gift Wawrinka an easy hold. He hasn't really challenged Wawrinka's serve since the opening game of the match.
Oh dear. Wawrinka races into a 0-30 advantage, and that soon becomes 0-40 when a backhand from Falla goes into the tramlines. Will it be an easy break for the Swiss? No it won't. After missing with a backhand, two errors help Falla reach deuce, and from 0-40 down, the Colombian holds superbly. That was an important game.
A second ace wins Wawrinka the first point, but he has to dig deep to take the second, overturning a rally that Falla had dominated to force his opponent to net. Another ace follows, before Falla dumps another shot into the net.
Wawrinka has turned his game up a notch over the past five minutes. A flat forehand from the baseline and a perfectly-timed passing shot help him to 0-30, but he lets the lead slip with two shots that cleared the baseline by inches. The Colombian holds by taking the next two points, the second of which is an ace, but he is having to fight hard to remain in contention.
Wowzers. I feel sorry for the ball in that rally. The pair trade huge blows before Wawrinka directs a beautiful backhand down the line for a 30-15 lead. However, Falla's unfazed, and a forehand winner brings up 30-30, but Wawrinka produces two serves that can't be returned to level the set at three apiece.
BREAK! Falla is getting himself into dominant positions in rallies, but he isn't converting, and it is going to cost him. A poor effort into the net hands Wawrinka 15-30, and the Colombian is overpowered by Wawrinka again, who fires a forehand winner into the corner for two break points. The first is saved with a serve-and-volley, but Falla hooks a forehand long to concede the advantage to the Swiss.
Wawrinka eases to 30-0, but he is soon pegged back by Falla, who must strike back immediately. He has a bit of momentum at 30-30, but an unreturned first serve and an ace takes the Swiss to within one game of a two-set lead.
SET! A second double fault from Falla opens the door for Wawrinka, who takes advantage to blast a forehand winner down the line. Falla's only form of defence has been attack and it gets him to 30-30, but a delicate flick over the net brings up a set point for the Swiss. The Colombian goes for another blockbuster shot but he finds the net. After just 62 minutes, Wawrinka is two sets up.
I have a suspicion that this match could be over as a contest. Wawrinka rattles his way to yet another love-service hold, and unless his level drops alarmingly, this match could be over within the next 30 minutes.
That might just be the quickest six points in history. Falla holds to 30 in a blink of an eye, and he needed that after the end of that second set.
BREAK! The first double fault of the match from Wawrinka hands 0-15 to Falla, but a fine second serve evens the score. The number eight seed misses out with an easy backhand volley at the net, and despite Falla netting, another double fault gives the Colombian just his second break point of the match. That's saved, but Falla lets go with an excellent forehand down the line to bring up another opportunity, which is taken with a super backhand return. What was I saying 10 minutes?!
Falla has his tail up at the start of the game, slicing a delightful backhand volley out of the reach of Wawrinka, but Wawrinka drives a forehand winner into the open court to bring up 15-30. However, three shots go wide of the mark from the Swiss, and Falla consolidates the break.
Falla senses an opening for a second break after Wawrinka miscues on the first point, but the Swiss roars back with four quick points to halve the deficit. This match has gone at a relentless pace. We've had 23 games in the space of around 80 minutes.
BREAK! Some efficient play from Falla quickly takes him to 40-0, but Wawrinka remains in the game by flicking the ball past his opponent at the net. Two fierce forehands from Wawrinka take him to deuce, and out of nowhere, Wawrinka has a break point after Falla nets. That's so disappointing from the Colombian, who sends a wild backhand long, and we are back on serve in the third.
That last game has produced a definite momentum swing. Wawrinka races into a 40-0 lead, and although Falla pulls a point back, he has no answer to the relentless hitting of the Swiss, who passes the ball into the open court to move ahead in the set.
Can Falla stop the rot? The Colombian continues to battle hard, but an immense backhand winner from Wawrinka tells the world number 87 that he is going to need something special to stay in this match. It's 15-30, and Wawrinka comes up with another piece of magic, blasting the ball down the line past a despondent Falla. Rather cheekily, Wawrinka challenges a call after already playing the shot, but it goes against him, and Falla is back at deuce. The Colombian is forced to save another break point, but he comes through the game in superb fashion with a backhand into the corner that clipped the line.
Falla enters the game with renewed optimism, and he is encouraged when Wawrinka goes long with a forehand. However, after two quick points from Wawrinka, the wind is taken out of Falla's sails after making up a lot of ground on the baseline, and Wawrinka is one game away from the third round after a first serve isn't returned.
The crowd are right behind Falla - they want this match to continue! A deft volley at the net and a poor shot from Wawrinka helps Falla reach 30-0, but the Swiss shows a subtle touch at the net to direct the ball past his opponent. The next rally is played at a energy-sapping pace, but Wawrinka prevails after Falla misses an easy volley. He makes amends with a smash, but a wild forehand keeps Wawrinka in the game at deuce. Wawrinka produces yet another backhand winner, but Falla eventually comes through the game, much to the delight of the crowd.
This match continues to be easy on the eye, and another retrieval at the net from Wawrinka helps him to 30-15. Falla has an opening at 30-30, but a sixth ace and a miscued forehand from Falla force the Colombian to serve to remain in the match for the second time.
This set deserves a tie-break, and two points from Falla get us halfway there. Wawrinka then misses out with a passing shot to allow Falla to move to 40-15, and we move into a breaker after the Swiss misses the baseline.
Falla immediately sets about his business by sealing an early mini-break when Wawrinka blasts wide, and a backhand behind the Swiss doubles his advantage. Fortune favours the brave, and Falla steps in to put away a backhand volley for 3-0. He fails to take a fourth point in a row when netting, and a brutal forehand from the back of the court sees Wawrinka hold serve twice. Who will take the final point before the change of ends? It's Falla, who sees his opponent miss the target with a forehand.
SET! Falla moves to 5-2 thanks to another wayward Wawrinka shot, but a Falla mistake and a big forehand from Wawrinka moves the score to 5-4. That's brave again from Falla, who serves-and-volleys for the umpteenth time to move to two set points, and he takes the first after Wawrinka goes wide! We are heading into a fourth set on the Margaret Court Arena.
Falla has the momentum, and he stamps his authority over the opening two points of the set, but a top-spin forehand from Wawrinka stops Falla in his tracks. He follows that up with another winner, but he can't record a third after going marginally long. Wow, Falla is up for this now - he pings a forehand behind Wawrinka to open up an early lead.
All of a sudden, the pressure is on Wawrinka. A double fault from the Swiss gives Falla a bit of an opening at 15-15, but a forehand winner from the eighth seed catches the line. However, Falla gets a bit of luck from a net cord, and that's followed up by a wayward shot from Wawrinka to hand Falla break point, but Wawrinka remains composed to unleash a huge forehand from the baseline, and he holds when Falla fails to catch the inner tramline.
BREAK! Falla needs to remain in the ascendancy, but he tamely allows Wawrinka three break points. After the first is saved, he volleys the ball into the open court to remain in the game, but on the third opportunity, Wawrinka catches the baseline and he has the all-important break at the start of this fourth set.
Falla has taken a medical timeout. He's either having a pedicure or he has a problem with blisters. We will go with the latter.
Will that break in play have any effect on the match? Wawrinka thumps a winner down the line, before a second baseline hit forces Falla to go long. A seventh ace takes the Swiss to three game points, and a volley at the net, via the net cord, help him close out a love game.
The onus is now on Falla to produce something special to remain in this match, and a hold to love starts his quest in perfect style.
BREAK! Wawrinka has recorded 52 winners in this match, and he takes that to 53 with another forehand conversion. An eighth ace takes him to 30-0, but Falla moves to the net to force a mistake out of his opponent. A service winner out wide brings up two game points, but a precise backhand volley from Falla and a Wawrinka error take us to deuce. Wawrinka is forced to save two break points, both with well-placed serves, but a double fault hands Falla another chance, which he takes when Wawrinka nets! We are back on serve.
Falla is showing superb defiance in Melbourne. I thought that this was done and dusted after two sets, but the Colombian has Wawrinka worried. He quickly moves to 40-15, and although he miscues from the baseline, Wawrinka makes an unforced error to allow Falla to edge into the lead.
The world number 87 comes off his chair looking to keep the initiative, but he can't stop Wawrinka moving 40-0 ahead. A backhand pass keeps him in the game, but another attempt on the run goes wide.
BREAK! There has been very little defensive play on show in this match, and that continues in this game, but it brings three mistakes. Wawrinka has 15-30, and despite Falla unleashing a brute of a forehand, the Swiss directs it into the open court for two break points. Falla remains on the attack, but he nets a volley! Disaster. Wawrinka will serve for the match.
MATCH! Wawrinka senses his opportunity here. A first serve from the Swiss isn't returned, and a thunderous forehand into the corner take him two points away from victory. An easy backhand volley at the net creates three match points, and his passage is secured when Falla drifts a forehand wide.
Stanislas Wawrinka finally closes out an hard-earned four-set victory over Alejandro Falla. The world number 87 displayed plenty of fight in winning the third set, but Wawrinka proved to be too strong in the decisive moments of the fourth set.
The number eight seed will now play the winner of the match between Matthew Edben and Vasek Pospisil for a place in the fourth round.
That will be all from Sports Mole for this match, which definitely lived up to my expectations of an entertaining encounter. You can look back at what occurred on day three of the Australian Open by following our dedicated tournament coverage, which you can view by clicking here. Goodbye for now.
