Rome, May 10 (BNA): Three-times Grand Slam champion Stanislas Wawrinka won his first match in 15 months as he moved into the second round of the Italian Open while Dominic Thiem fell in the first round again to remain unbeaten in the round. this year.
Wawrinka, who had not played for a year after undergoing two surgeries for a foot injury, was playing with American 14th seed Reilly Opelka and lost the first set before winning 3-6 7-5 6-2, Reuters reported.
It was Wawrinka’s first win since last year’s Australian Open, but the 37-year-old, the 2015 French Open champion, said he still has to do in the gym and on the field to get back to a competitive level.
“Physically I was feeling great,” Wawrinka told reporters. “Definitely when you haven’t won a match in more than a year, you always start to think about it too much and not focus on the right things.”
“Overall, I think it was a great match, a great fight. I stayed positive and started to feel a lot better with my tennis by the end of the second set and the third set. I’m really happy with this win.”
Thiem, who also returned from a wrist injury that kept him from defending his US Open title last year, showed some encouraging signs but made 22 unforced errors in a 6-4 7-6(5) loss to Italian Fabio Fognini.
Thiem started on the bright side, starting things off with a header on the first point of the match and also spawning two Brands forehand and backhand winners which earned him fame on the tour.
But it was Fognini who broke first at 4-4 to serve up the first set after the Italian outscored Tim in the longest rallies with the Supreme Court covered.
With the sun setting and the lights on, Tim advanced to the match in the second set but whenever he had a break opportunity, Fognini shut the door.
Fognini saved six break points before the Austrian found a second wind, and saved a match point before eventually breaking to make the score 5-5.
But Fognini’s start was much better that day, and two shots from Tim in the tiebreak gave the Italian a second game point, sealing the lead to the next round when Tim’s forehand went too far.
“I’m really frustrated right now, obviously,” said Thiem. “Well, things have improved again since Madrid. That’s fine.”
“I looked at the stats after the first set on the big screen. In fact they are getting better… the forehand is still not there when things get tighter. That’s how it is now, on to the next set.”
While Fognini progressed, it was a mixed day for fans after several Italians were knocked out in the first round.
Lorenzo Sonego showed maximum hope as he lifted Denis Shapovalov into three sets before the Canadian took the lead with a 7-6 (5) 3-6, 6-3 victory.