Wawrinka to work his way back after early French Open loss

Stan Wawrinka insists he’ll work his way back to the game’s upper echelons, following a first round French Open loss which will see him drop outside the world’s top 250.

The Swiss, who was runner-up to Rafael Nadal in 2017, battled for three-and-a-half hours against  Guillermo Garcia Lopez before the world No.67 claimed a 6-2 3-6 4-6 7-6 (5) 6-3 victory.

It was the second time Garcia-Lopez eliminated Wawrinka in the first round at the French Open, the clay-loving Spaniard also doing so in 2014.

Vamos! ????????

For the second time, @GuillermoGLopez knocks out Wawrinka in Roland-Garros 1R with a 6-2 3-6 4-6 7-6(5) 6-3 win.#RG18 pic.twitter.com/1ctOf3njks

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 28, 2018

“There is no frustration, it’s just tough,” said Wawrinka, who was contesting only his seventh event for 2018 after undergoing two knee surgeries in the second half of 2017.

“But I’m on the right way. It was very close today.”

Despite struggling with serve and committing 72 unforced errors for the match, the 33-year-old said he’s ready for the hard work of rebuilding a career that’s delivered three majors among 16 career titles.

“The ranking doesn’t lie. For sure, I’m going to require some wildcards,” Wawrinka conceded. “If I have to play Challenger [tournaments], I don’t have a problem with that.

“I won three Grand Slams in my career and I know what it takes to do it. I’m playing well, feeling good and I’m ready to win.”

Entering Roland Garros at world No.30, Wawrinka will fall to his lowest ranking since August 2003.

But Wawrinka is buoyed by a sense of progress in his injury return, even after requiring minor treatment in his hard-fought loss to Garcia-Lopez.

‘My knee is good, completely fine,” he said. “Completely unconnected [to the previous injury]. I just felt a really strange pain on the same knee, on the side, so I wanted to fix it. The physio just manipulated it a little bit and now there is no after-effect. I’m happy with that.

“What dominates mostly is mental tiredness.”

Noting that he’s worked “every day” to make his way back to the tour, Wawrinka saw his five-set loss as an important step.

“I know that what I have been doing since I was injured, all the efforts I make, and no one sees it,” he said.

“It’s to live through moments like this. And I hope there will be several victories after that.”

Djokovic delivers opening win

Novak Djokovic, also on his way back from injury, enjoyed a contrastingly smooth path to the second round after overcoming Rogerio Dutra Silva in straight sets.

The Serb dropped serve in the opening game but quickly recovered to record a 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory in two hours and six minutes.

Outside the top 20 for the first time since he was a teenager as he recovers form following elbow surgery, Djokovic is encouraged by his improving form.

“I’m starting to play better,” said Djokovic. “In the past couple of weeks, [I’ve] not been thinking about the elbow [and] playing pain-free, which is the most important thing at the moment.”

Fun to win. Fun to watch. @DjokerNole earned a 1R victory against a tricky opponent on Monday. Highlights: https://t.co/23p9BDWPN9 pic.twitter.com/blSXh7maB1

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 28, 2018

Recording his 60^th match win at Roland Garros, the 31-year-old said he’d “played enough to win” against the world No.134 from Brazil.

“I think I had some really good moments in the match and some not that great,” Djokovic admitted.

“But it was good for the first match. It was a good test.”

Djokovic next faces Jaume Munar in a first-career meeting against the world No.155.

Thiem, Tsitsipas set second-round clash

Dominic Thiem, the No.3 seed in Paris, set up a tantalising second-round clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas with a straight-sets win over Ilya Ivashka.

Thiem’s last meeting with, who eliminated Carlos Taberner in four sets, ended with an upset loss to the rising Greek teen in Barcelona.

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Other winners on day two of the French Open included No.13 seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who took five sets to advance against Denis Istomin.

Diego Schwartzman, the No.11 seed, advanced against Calvin Hernery, while lucky loser Marco Trungelliti eliminated Bernard Tomic in four sets.

Karen Khachanov, Borna Coric, Sam Querrey, Richard Gasquet and Ernests Gulbis also advanced.

Rain stops Rafa

Rafael Nadal was stopped by rain in his first-round match against Simone Bolleli, the 10-time defending champion leading 6-4 6-3 0-3 when rain delayed play.

Their match will resume following the first-round contest between Marin Cilic and James Duckworth on Court Phillipe Chartrier.

Also still to be completed are first-round matches between Guido Pella and Joao Sousa, as well as Matt Edben and Thomas Fabbiano.

????? suspends play @rolandgarros.@RafaelNadal is up two sets, but down a break in the third. Will the 10-time ???? winner close out ????????Simone Bolelli in straight sets on Tuesday? ????

Read More ?? https://t.co/GfK9s5klat pic.twitter.com/TzvKs2Z1KN

— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) May 28, 2018