Three-time major champ Wawrinka earns first win in 15 months
Raducanu learning as a ‘loner’ without a tennis coach as she faces Bianca Andreescu in the first round today
THE fit-again Stan Wawrinka secured a first win in 15 months by defeating Reilly Opelka at the Internazionali d’Italia on Monday.
Three-time grand slam champion Wawrinka, whose most recent major success came at the 2016 S Open, was competing in just his second ATP Tour match in 14 months after recovering from a foot injury but battled past American Opelka 3-6, -5, 6-2 in Rome.
Opelka seemed to hold the initiative after dominating the first set and boasting a 4-2 advantage in the second, but the 3 -year-old Swiss recovered well to fight back against the world number 1 .
Wawrinka managed to release his heavy-hitting forehand and close the court by nearer to the net, with Opelka providing no response as the former world number three triumphed in two hours and five minutes.
Laslo Djere or Borna Coricwill be the second-round opponent for Wawrinka, who registered his first tour-level win since February 2021.
Before defeating Opelka, Wawrinka had not won a match since he defeated Pedro Sousa at the Australian Open last season.
His only other ATP Tour match since then ended in defeat to Alexander Bublik in Monte Carlo last month.
Meanwhile, Emma Raducanu says being a “loner” has helped her to discover a lot about herself after the S Open champion split with coach Torben Beltz last month. The 19-year-oldemployed Beltz last November, but the German was only in her corner for five months.
Raducanu had turned to Beltz after splitting with Andrew Richardson, who helped her sensationally win a maiden grand slam at Flushing Meadows last year, and was previously coached by Nigel Sears. The teenager says she is happy to go it alone as she prepares to face Bianca Andreescu in the first round of the Internazionali d’Italia on Tuesday.
She told reporters in Rome “I’d describe myself as a loner.
“For the past year... I’ve had a lot of people around me a lot and very often.
To be on my own is interesting because I’m kind of finding out a lot about myself, understanding what I need and what I don’t need.” Raducanu was beaten by Anhelina Kalinina in the third round of the Madrid Open last week after being knocked out by number one Iga Swiatek at the quarter-final stage in Stuttgart.
The world number 12 is pleased with the progress she is making on clay.
“Clay is very new to me,” she added. “I definitely feel like I have been progressing with each week, improving, getting a better understanding of how to play points, when to stay in the point or when to stay aggressive.
“I don’t think I’m like the finished product at all. But, yeah, I’m heading in a good direction.”