Monte Carlo – Archyde.com
Stanislas Wawrinka returned to the ATP tour for the first time in 13 months and showed glimpses of his old form, but the Swiss failed to get past Alexander Bublik in the first round of the Monte Carlo Tennis Championships, losing 3-6 7-5 6-2 on Monday.
The three-times Grand Slam champion suffered a foot injury early in 2021 and underwent surgery in March last year, then another surgery three months later, and was back on court for the Challenger Championship in Marbella last month.
While the 37-year-old lost in the first round in Monte Carlo, he did not appear badly once morest world number 36 Publik and took the first set in just 27 minutes to take the advantage.
Wawrinka, the 2014 title winner, missed a break opportunity for Bublik at the start of the second set and avoided three set points to equalize 5-5, but did not stop the Kazakh player from sealing the set.
Earlier on Monday, Italian Fabio Fognini, winner of the 2019 title, defeated Frenchman Artur Reinderkunch 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, while American Sebastian Korda beat Botique van de Zandschlep 7-5, 6-4, and Spaniard Albert Ramos won Pinolas 6-4 4-6 6-2 over Talon Grixpur.
The tournament is missing key players such as Rafael Nadal, Daniel Medvedev and Dominic Thiem, while world number one Novak Djokovic will appear on Tuesday when he faces Alejandro Davidovic.
