Slow start: Stan Wawrinka returns at Challenger in Marbella
Stan Wawrinka will be making his comeback to professional tennis after a little over a year. The three-time major champion competes in the ATP Challenger tournament in Marbella.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Mar 21, 2022, 04:20 pm
Stan Wawrinka and the Challenger Tour - given the career successes of the Swiss, this is a surprisingly lively couple. In 2020, for example, Wawrinka appeared twice in Prague, winning the first challenger after the Corona break in the final against a certain Aslan Karatsev. In the second, Wawrinka made it to the quarterfinals - where he would have come again against Karatsev. But that was enough tennis for the three-time winner of a Grand Slam tournament. Wawrinka no longer competed.
After a hiatus of a little over a year, the now 36-year-old is making his comeback in Marbella. At a Challenger tournament in the 125 category. Wawrinka played his last match to date in Doha in early 2021, where he lost to Lloyd Harris. On the big stage, the return should then take place in Monte Carlo: Wawrinka - like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - was given a wildcard there.
Another prominent returnee is currently preparing for his comeback in Marbella after a long injury break: Dominic Thiem . Will the Austrian start his first attempts on the second floor of professional tennis? Rather unlikely. But maybe the Wawrinka example will set a precedent.