CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP)—Top-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka beat Romania’s Victor Hanescu 6-2, 6-3 to win the Grand Prix Hassan II on Sunday.
The Swiss player broke Hanescu twice in the first set and held serve despite landing only 40 percent of his first serves and double-faulting twice.
Wawrinka’s service improved in the second set as he made 63 percent of first serves, and he won four games in a row to take a 5-1 lead.
The third-seeded Hanescu rallied to make it 5-3, but Wawrinka saved two break points in the ninth game before clinching the victory on a backhand netted by his opponent.
“I’m very happy to win here today. It has been an incredible week, in part because of you. You made me feel at home,” Wawrinka told a cheering Moroccan crowd.
It was Wawrinka’s second title on the ATP Tour since he won at Umag, Croatia, in 2006.
Wawrinka will face Hanescu again on Tuesday, at the Monte Carlo Masters.
“For me it was a very good week in Casablanca,” Hanescu said. “I played my best tennis. Maybe not today but Stanislas was very good and very aggressive, and he deserved to win the trophy.”