‘Everything terrible’ for ousted Wawrinka

STANISLAS Wawrinka admitted he is struggling to piece together the puzzle of life as a Grand Slam champion after crashing out of the French Open in the first round.

The Australian Open winner and third seed never looked comfortable in heavy conditions after a wet day in Paris and fell 6-4 5-7 6-2 6-0 to Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

When Wawrinka lifted his first Masters trophy in Monte Carlo last month it looked like he could potentially add the French Open crown to the one he so stunningly won in Melbourne in January.

But he was in trouble virtually from the start on Court Philippe Chatrier and became the f irst Au s t r a l i a n Open champion to lose in the opening round in Paris since Petr Korda in 1998.

Wawrinka said: “I was completely flat. I wasn’t aggressive. I was playing some bad rallies. Everything was terrible.

“I always put a lot of pressure on myself. But before the match and during the match it was not really about only the pressure.

“I think it’s just a different story. Now it’s a different picture for my career. I need to put the puzzle back together, but differently than in the past.

“Because now it’s after winning Grand Slam, Masters 1000, being No 3 in the world. Everything is different, and I still didn’t find all the pieces.”

There were no alarms for either Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic as they eased into the second round.

Many eyebrows had been raised when yesterday’s order of play was released showing eighttime champion and world No 1 Nadal opening his campaign on Suzanne Lenglen, Roland Garros’s second court.

It was certainly strange scheduling but Nadal found the surroundings much to his liking as he dispatched American wild card Robby Ginepri 6-0 6-3 6-0.

Predictably, he insisted he did not feel snubbed, saying: “It doesn’t really matter a lot. Always playing Roland Garros is a pleasure for me, it’s a real honour and a special feeling.

“I started on Lenglen this year — it’s a great court. I am not sure, but probably next one I’m going to play on Chatrier.”

The only gripe from Nadal, who next meets exciting 20- year- old Dominic Thiem, was about the condition of the court.

There were two lengthy delays for rain but mostly play continued despite the bad weather.

Nadal said: “The balls were very heavy, very wet. Why don’t they dry the court before we start playing? The court is soaked with water. Why don’t they do anything?”

Djokovic, who was given a spot on Philippe Chatrier for his 6-1 6-2 6-4 win over Joao Sousa, played through the worst of the conditions and also felt the court was not protected enough.

The second seed said: “In my opinion there were a few times today they maybe should have covered the court earlier.”

Djokovic next plays t alented Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

Joining Wawrinka in exiting the tournament was ninth seed Kei Nishikori, who had been a doubt because of a back injury and went out 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 6-2 to Martin Klizan of Slovakia.

There was a remarkable win for Argentinian qualifier Facundo Bagnis, who marked his Grand Slam debut by defeating France’s Julien Benneteau 6-1 6-2 1-6 3-6 18-16, equalling the most games in a final set at the French Open.

There were also wins for Fabio Fognini, Marin Cilic, Ernests Gulbis and Gilles Simon.