US Open 2015: Stanislas Wawrinka, Victoria Azarenka seal quarters berths in style

The fifth-seeded Stan Wawrinka won 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Monday.

Stan Wawrinka, of Switzerland, reacts after beating Donald Young, of the United States, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Monday, Sept. 7, 2015, in New York. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Stan Wawrinka, of Switzerland, reacts after beating Donald Young, of the United States, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament on Monday. (Source: AP)

Two-time major champion Stan Wawrinka made sure Donald Young wouldn’t complete a comeback this time, beating the American in four sets to reach his third straight U.S. Open quarterfinal.

The fifth-seeded Wawrinka won 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Monday. Young had come from behind in his three previous matches, twice rallying from down two sets.

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But Wawrinka’s experience and power were too much for the 68th-ranked Young, who has never advanced to a Grand Slam quarterfinal.

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Young had upset Wawrinka in five sets in the second round of the 2011 U.S. Open. Wawrinka is a different player now, though, winning the 2014 Australian Open and this year’s French Open.

His signature backhand deserted him at times Monday and he smashed a racket after getting broken for the first time in the second set, but Wawrinka’s bigger serves helped him take control in the last two sets.

Victoria Azarenka has reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the fourth straight year.

The two-time Australian Open champion beat 46th-ranked American Varvara Lepchenko 6-3, 6-4 on Monday. Lepchenko was in the fourth round at the U.S. Open for the first time.

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Azarenka introduced a new fashion statement to Arthur Ashe Stadium: gauze wrapped around both biceps. She joked in an on-court interview that after throwing around a football Sunday — she does it for fun and to help with her service motion — she wanted to look tough like an NFL player.

The real reason was “really a little bit embarrassing,” Azarenka conceded. The skin on the inside of her arms had been chafing against her top.

“It’s so weird,” she said.

Azarenka, who lost to Serena Williams in three sets in the U.S. Open final in 2012 and ’13, is seeded just 20th after an injury-plagued season. But now she’s into her second straight major quarterfinal, where she will face Simona Halep or Sabine Lisicki.