Wawrinka canters to quarter-final win over Anderson
World number five Stan Wawrinka was far too good for Kevin Anderson, winning in straight sets in their US Open quarter-final clash.
Swiss star Stan Wawrinka advanced to his third grand slam semi-final of the year after powering past Kevin Anderson 6-4 6-4 6-0 at the US Open on Wednesday.
Anderson - in the midst of his best grand slam run - was expected to provide Wawrinka with a stern challenge at Flushing Meadows after stunning 2012 champion Andy Murray in the last 16.
But the South African 15th seed faded dramatically against French Open champion Wawrinka, who raced to victory with a 25-minute third set.
Anderson tallied 12 unforced errors in the third, and 42 for the match in an underwhelming performance.
Wawrinka, who reached the Australian Open semis in January, had just 15 unforced errors for the contest and won 94 per cent of his first serves as his win-loss record this year improved to 41-12.
The first set went to serve until the seventh game as an Anderson double fault at 15-40 handed Wawrinka a 4-3 lead.
It was an advantage he never relinquished, despite Anderson fending off a set point to make Wawrinka serve it out.
Wawrinka earned another set point on serve and that is all he needed as he closed out the opener after Anderson missed a forehand wide.
The second set followed a similar path, though Wawrinka was tested early.
Down 0-30 in the fourth game, Wawrinka reeled off four straight points to hold serve.
The Swiss then broke for a 5-4 lead after blasting a backhand winner down the line.
It proved decisive again as Wawrinka, who won 100 per cent of his first service points in the second, earned a two-set lead after Anderson's forehand went wide again.
Wawrinka wasted no time closing out the match, breaking serve thrice as he swept Anderson to book his spot in the final four.