Swiss player Stan Wawrinka returns the ball to Spanish David Ferrer during their match for 3rd place at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, on January 2, 2016. AFP PHOTO / MARWAN NAAMANI / AFP / MARWAN NAAMANI (Photo credit should read MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Top seed Stanislas Wawrinka beat Croatian youngster Borna Coric on Sunday to capture the ATP Chennai Open for a third straight year, kicking off the new season in winning style.

The Swiss world number four overcame Coric in the $US480,000 season-opening event with a 6-3 7-5 win in the nearly 90-minute final, claiming his fourth victory since 2011 in the southern Indian city.

Scores of Indian fans at the Nungambakkam tennis stadium cheered wildly as the popular Wawrinka, making his eighth appearance in Chennai, outplayed his 19-year-old opponent — the youngest finalist on the ATP Tour in eight years.

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