Federer loses on return; Serena beaten in Parma

Roger Federer lost the first match of his comebackproper on Tuesday as he tumbled out of the Geneva Open on his first outing in two months. Federer lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to Spanish clay court specialist Pablo Andujar to wreck the 39-year-old’s hopes of stringing a run of matches together ahead of the French Open, Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics.

In Parma, Serena Williams’ disappointing return continued when she lost in straight sets to 68th-ranked Katerina Siniakova in the second round of the Emilia-Romagna Open.

Top-seeded Williams, who accepted a wild-card for the Parma tournament after losing her opening match at the Italian Open last week, was beaten 7-6 (4), 6-2. She had beaten teenage qualifier Lisa Pigato 6-3, 6-2 in the previous round for her first victory since defeating Simona Halep in the Australian Open quarterfinals in February. After some time off, Williams then lost in straight sets in Rome to Nadia Podoroska.

Williams is preparing for the French Open which starts on Monday.

Wawrinka withdraws

LONDON: Former champion Stan Wawrinka has pulled out of the French Open after failing to recover sufficiently from an operation he underwent on his left foot in March, his team said on Tuesday. The 36-year-old Swiss, who won the claycourt Grand Slam at Roland Garros in 2015, has not played on the Tour since his opening round loss in March.

The three-times Grand Slam champion, a former world number three, then underwent a minor procedure on his left foot and at the time said he will be out for a few weeks.