Wawrinka is really disappointed
LONDON: Stan Wawrinka’s woeful run at recent grand slams continued yesterday when the Swiss lost 7-6(7) 6-3 7-6(6) in the second round at Wimbledon against Italian journeyman Thomas Fabbiano.
Wawrinka, winner of three grand-slam tournaments, trailed by two sets overnight, having squandered set points in the opener, but led 6-5 in the third when play resumed in muggy conditions.
He then had two set points in the tiebreak but missed both, spraying one backhand well wide, and the 29-year-old Fabbiano completed the best win of his career.
“I’m really disappointed to lose a match like yesterday and today. I think I was playing really well yesterday,” unseeded Wawrinka, who took out sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov in the first round, told reporters.
“I had a lot of set points in the first set. Set points again today. Could have changed a lot. Unfortunately I lost in three sets.”
Since reaching last year’s French Open final Wawrinka has tumbled down the rankings
from three to his current 224, mainly as a consequence of the knee surgery he required last year.
He lost in the first round of the French Open this year, the second round in Australia and at last year’s Wimbledon he was knocked out in round one. He did not play the US Open.
While in the early part of the year Wawrinka was still troubled by his knee, he said the problem now was more a matter of restoring the self-belief missing from his game.
“I’ve been pushing myself, pushing my body. I think my level is there.
“Now it’s about getting back the confidence, winning some tough match, finding a way
how to win those points like the set point yesterday,” the 33-year-old said.
“Those little things can change a tournament.”
Fabbiano, ranked 133rd, goes on to play Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round with both men looking to reach the last 16 of a grand slam for the first time.
Meanwhile, the scoreboard said 6-4 6-3 6-4 to Rafael Nadal but it was an uneasy two-and-a-half hours for the Spanish world number one as he laboured past Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin into the third round at Wimbledon yesterday.
Twice champion Nadal, 32, never quite got to grips with the unorthodox Kazakh’s low, skidding shots and faced 13 break points in an entertaining Centre Court contest.
Had Kukushkin converted a few more of them it could have gotten really complicated for Nadal, who is still finding his grass-court game after claiming an 11th French Open title.
The mere mention of Lukas Rosol, Steve Darcis and Dustin Brown – all of whom have knocked him out at the All England Club since he won the 2010 title – is enough to make Nadal’s face crease into a frown.
He also got a fright from Kukushkin when he dropped the opening set at Wimbledon in 2014, so there was clear relief in his voice as he stopped for a BBC TV interview on his way back to the locker room after a second successive straightsets win.
“It was very tough because he played very well and his shots stay very low so it was a good test,” Nadal said.
“I am happy to go through, I think I played better than the first day. The most important thing is you can’t save your body at majors, you have to give your best.” – Reuters