Stanislas Wawrinka has secured his spot in the third round of the US Open with a 6-3 6-4 3-6 7-6 victory over Thomasz Bellucci in a late finish in New York.
It appeared that Wawrinka would be in for a tough night judging by the early exchanges, but Bellucci offered his rival the advantage with a nervy serving performance in the sixth game to give up a break.
Wawrinka converted the lead to take the opener in just over 30 minutes, before starting the next set by immediately claiming a break of serve.
There would be no way back for Bellucci in the set as Wawrinka produced a masterclass in serving to earn a 2-0 lead over his Brazilian opponent.
However, Bellucci was far from finished with his work for the night, breaking Wawrinka twice in the third set to increase hopes of an unlikely comeback.
Wawrinka broke back moments later, but the Australian Open champion was unable to prevent the match from being extended further.
The pair exchanged breaks in the fourth set, before Bellucci was forced to save two match points on his own serve at 5-4 to his Swiss rival.
A tie-break was needed to separate the two players, and the Bellucci challenge finally faded as Wawrinka wrapped up a 7-1 success to keep his bid for a second major title alive.
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