3-time major champ Wawrinka out in 1st round at Washington

Wwere supposed to play Monday night. But because of rain delays and a lengthy match before theirs, they only made it onto the court to warm up at 1 a.m., and then a downpour arrived, so the contest was postponed.

Wawrinka got broken in the first game Tuesday by dumping a forehand into the net; that turned out to be the match’s only break. Wawrinka then was two points from losing at 5-3 in the second-set tiebreaker. But a series of miscues by Young, including a double-fault at 5-4, sent them to a third set. This time, Young held on, and he’ll face 2014 U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori on Wednesday.

“Fought a lot of nerves there, but I’m happy the end result was a ’W,’” Young said. “Closing matches is kind of like a skill you get from winning and I haven’t done that — but I was able to do that.”

No. 1 seed and defending champion Alexander Zverev took the first set against Malek Jaziri 6-2 in the main stadium’s final match when play was suspended for the night after 1 a.m. because of rain. They’ll resume Wednesday.

In earlier action, local product Denis Kudla — who is staying at his parents’ home in nearby Arlington, Virginia, this week — collected his first victory in seven attempts at the Citi Open, coming back to beat Lukas Lacko of Slovakia 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-4.

“This is always a place that I’ve wanted to win and I’ve always struggled here. My record was pretty awful coming into today,” said Kudla, who had been 0-4 in main-draw matches and 0-2 in qualifying at the tournament. “Today it just came together.”

Marcos Baghdatis, the 2010 runner-up, advanced with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Benoit Paire, who drew boos from spectators after a racket-breaking tantrum. Vasek Pospisil, a finalist in 2014, lost to 19year-old Alex de Minaur 67 (6), 6-2, 6-3.

Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki pulled out of the women’s draw because of an injured right leg, while defending champion Ekaterina Makarova lost her firstround match to Ana Bogdan 7-6 (2), 6-3.

No. 2 seed Sloane Stephens, the reigning U.S. Open champion, moved into the second round with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Bethanie Mattek-Sands.