Wawrinka prevails in first match after surgery
melbourne — Stan Wawrinka was upbeat after winning a tough first match at the Australian Open on Tuesday since knee surgery last year, saying there was still pain but it was getting better.
The three-time Grand Slam winner had a mid-match wobble before eliminating Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7/2) in 2hr 47min on Hisense Arena.
It was a confidence booster for the 2014 Melbourne Park champion, who had a troubled lead-in to the year’s opening Grand Slam, pulling out of an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi on his way to Australia.
The Swiss star, who defeated Rafael Nadal to win the 2014 Australian Open, has slipped to nine in the world rankings, having not played since his firstround Wimbledon loss to Russian Daniil Medvedev six months ago. But Wawrinka was heartened by the first examination of his still painful knee at the year’s opening Grand Slam.
“It’s great to be back. It’s great to win, for sure,” he said.
“It was a tough one in all aspects of the game, but in general, I’m really happy to get through a match like that, to fight the way I did today, to win the match like this.”
Wawrinka admitted he was still experiencing pain but was relieved his knee had stood up to the physical demands.
“I still have some pain. It depends the way I’m moving, how I push on it,” he said.
“In general, it’s going the right direction. That’s the best news. To see that I can play a match with the stress, back being tight, without hesitation. —