ATP Masters Rome: Wawrinka is back with a win against Opelka
Stan Wawrinka celebrated his first match win since the Australian Open 2021 at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome. Wawrinka defeated Reilly Opelka 3-6, 7-5 and 6-2.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: May 09, 2022, 01:39 pm
Please trust the process, Stan Wawrinka emphasized in his Instagram posts. Well, that process seems to have finally started rolling again. Because the three-time major winner celebrated his first match win since the Australian Open 2021 at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome. Wawrinka won against the American Reilly Opelka 3: 6, 7: 5 and 6: 2. In the next round, Wawrinka will play either Borna Coric or Laslo Djere, after which a meeting with Novak Djokovic could beckon.
Wawrinka's last win came against Pedro Sousa in Melbourne earlier this season. After fruitless performances in Rotterdam (loss to Karen Khachanov) and Doha (loss to Lloyd Harris), Wawrinka underwent another operation on his knee, only returning this year at the ATP Challenger tournament in Marbella. There it was the end of the line against Elias Ymer from Sweden.
It didn't want to work out in Monte Carlo either, but Stan Wawrinka managed to win a set against Alexander Bublik. The success against Opelka is now all the more important, especially since the American was in the semi-finals in Rome last year. And Wawrinka urgently needs points for the ATP world rankings: He is currently only in position 361.
Here the single tableau in Rome
rommap