Stanislas Wawrinka wins Monte Carlo Masters 2014 title, defeats good friend Federer

World number three Stanislas Wawrinka will remain Switzerland’s top-ranked player after he defeated good friend Roger Federer in the final of the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters on Sunday with a tight three-set 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 victory. This is Wawrinka’s first career ATP Masters 1000 title after having finished runner-up twice in the past (2008 Rome – lost to Djokovic) and last year (lost to R. Nadal in Madrid).

In the past 36 Masters events, 34 of those were won by those in the “Big Four” (Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray) and the only exceptions came from the Paris Masters in 2010 and 2012 where titles were won by Robin Soderling of Sweden and David Ferrer of Spain respectively.

“Of course, I’m very happy for Stan,” said Federer. “It’s a huge win for him after winning his first Grand Slam this year, also to win his first Masters 1000. To take the opportunities when they’re there, that’s key in a tennis player’s career. So I’m very happy for him.”

Wawrinka goes home with $549,400 in prize money plus 1000 ranking points. He was presented with the trophy by His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Charlene of Monaco.

The victory means that Wawrinka will remain world number three in the rankings but he will become number one in the Race to London standings, which posts the ranking points earned for this season alone.

As for Federer, he is still searching for his first Monte Carlo title after having finished runner-up four times now. He finished runner-up to Rafael Nadal from 2006, 2007 and 2008 and now to good friend Wawrinka this year.

“I think it’s one of the those finals that I could have won,” said Federer. “But Stan was tougher at the end. I think he deserved it just a little bit more. Clearly it would have been nice to win that second set tie-break. I didn’t necessarily play a bad one, but also at the same time I didn’t quite ever get into the lead where things went my way.

“I would have loved to have won a second title [this season] because I’ve come close a few times. That’s my next objective, that I get to the very end more frequently. But clearly I’m happy that the clay court season started so well for me.”