Key Biscayne, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka was a three-set second-round winner Saturday at the $4.7 million Sony Open, the second straight ATP Masters 1000 event.
Bouncing back from his first loss of the year last week at Indian Wells and coming off an opening-round bye, the third-seeded Swiss star held off Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 on the hardcourts at Crandon Park. Wawrinka won the first seven games of the match for a one-set, 1-0 lead before Gimeno- Traver fought back to force a third.
Wawrinka already owns two titles this year, including his first-ever Grand Slam win in Melbourne in January.
Up next for Wawrinka will be Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who doused 25th-seeded Croat Marin Cilic, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5). The in-form Cilic had reached the final in three of his previous four tournaments, including titles in Zagreb and Delray Beach.
Seventh-seeded Czech slugger Tomas Berdych reached the round of 32 by straight-setting Frenchman Stephane Robert, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1. Berdych was the runner-up here back in 2010.
Other upsets came when rising Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut dismissed 19th- seeded 6-foot-8 Pole Jerzy Janowicz 6-4, 6-1 and another Spaniard, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, dropped 23rd-seeded French star Gael Monfils 6-2, 7-5.
On-the-move Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov, seeded 22nd here, erased Finnish veteran Jarkko Nieminen, 6-4, 6-2. The "Dog" has now won 12 of his last 15 matches and reached at least the semifinals in his previous three events, including a final in Rio de Janeiro last month.
The 2014 winner of this lucrative Miami event will collect $787,000.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.