Wawrinka’s Dubai title defence ends in Round 1

Defending champion Stan Wawrinka was upset by Damir Dzumhur 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday.

This was No. 3-ranked Wawrinka’s first match since his Australian Open semifinal loss to Swiss countryman Roger Federer. He left Melbourne with a right knee injury and began regular practices only a week ago. Wawrinka said his knee was fine, but suggested he needed more matches to get up to speed.

“In practice, (I) start to be OK the last few days, but today I was missing a little bit of something,” he said.

“He started also to play a bit better, to put a little bit more first serves in, to put a little bit more pressure on.” Wawrinka raced to a 4-1 lead. “Three games in, like, six, seven minutes, he was playing outstanding there,” Dzumhur said. “I couldn’t even touch the ball.” But that was also the point when Wawrinka slowed down and showed signs of becoming tentative, and allowed the Bosnian into the match. In the tiebreaker, Dzumhur went 5-2 up, which was more than enough to secure the first set.

“I was hoping that he’s gonna go down with his level of game, and that’s what happened,” Dzumhur said. “I started to fight, to grind.”

DJOKOVIC WANTS TO ATONE FOR OZ OPEN LOSS

ACAPULCO: Novak Djokovic said Monday he is ready to atone for his shock Australian Open exit as he prepares to return to action in Acapulco. The 29-year-old world number two makes his bow in the tournament on Tuesday, his first match since tumbling out in Melbourne last month in the second round against Uzbekistand’s Denis Istomin.

The Australian Open defeat was the nadir of a challenging dip in form for the Serbian former world number one, who has won only two titles since July last year. Djokovic said he feels in a healthier frame of mind since his travails of recent months.