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Wawrinka, Djokovic storm into second round in Toronto
STAN Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic reached the second round of the Toronto Masters on Tuesday, with both men polishing their pre-US Open form.
Wawrinka put his comeback from knee surgery back on track with a 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 win over Nick Kyrgios.
Wimbledon holder Djokovic eased to victory, beating Mirza Basic 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) after the Bosnian replaced orignal opponent Chung Hyeon of South Korea, who withdrew before the match with injury.
A pair of Canadian teenagers advanced, with Denis Shapovalov dominating Jeremy Chardy 6-1, 6-4 while good friend Felix AugerAliassime, who turned 18 yesterday, thrilled his home fans as he defeated Lucas Pouille of France 6-4, 6-3.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka put 16th seed Kyrgios out with an impressive display after losing a one-sided opening set.
Wawrinka has been struggling to find his best form since returning to the ATP Tour after two knee operations a year ago and has slumped to 195 in the world rankings.
“I’m looking for confidence. I’m looking for matches,” he said. “I’m grateful I got the wildcard to play directly in the main draw.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match. Winning 1-6, 7-5, 75, it’s great for me. Any victory is good to get more confidence.
“I’m happy with the way I’m practicing. I’m really happy with the level and the way I’m moving on the practice court, and I need to find how to put it in the match.”
Kyrgios, with green fluorescent tape encircling each kneecap, quit injured in last week’s Washington quarter-finals, and he was treated in the second set here for his chronically troublesome hip.
“My hip is, obviously, a little bit sore. That’s why I called the trainer on the court. So it’s pretty selfexplanatory,” Kyrgios said.
“It’s good to see Stan back, I guess. He’s obviously had a tough 12 months with his injury, and it’s good seeing him back winning some matches.”
Djokovic, a four-time winner in Canada, double-faulted while serv ing for the match to slip into a second-set tie-break, but he finished the job for a second-round spot.
“(I need) the consistency of playing on a high level match after match, I haven’t had that postsurgery for several months,” Djokovic said.
“I was struggling to play two or three matches in a row consistently well. So that has changed and obviously feels good.”
Djokovic won in 90 minutes with nine aces; he now stands 366 at the event and next plays Canada’s Peter Polansky.