Wawrinka beats Robredo to reach U.S. Open quarters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka fought off two set points in the pivotal third set on the way to a 7-5 4-6 7-6(7) 6-2 win over Spain's Tommy Robredo on Monday to reach the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open.

(Reuters)

After splitting the first two sets, the third-seeded Swiss trailed 6-4 in the third-set tiebreaker but battled back to win 9-7 and closed out the victory over the Spanish 16th seed in the fourth set.

"It was a really tough battle today. It's always tough to play against him, he is always fighting," said Wawrinka, who showed his competitive fire with a dive into the stands during a point in the tight confines of Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Wawrinka will play either big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic, the fifth seed, or 10th-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan in the quarter-finals.

(Reporting by Larry Fine; Editing by Peter Rutherford)