Former world No. 3 Stan Wawrinka clinched his first victory since returning from an injury as on Monday he defeated No. 14 seed Reilly Opelka in the Rome first round.Ā
Wawrinka, who entered Rome using a protected ranking, recovered from a set and a break down to beat Opelka 3-6 7-5 6-2.Ā
Wawrinka, who underwent two foot surgeries last year, was playing his third match since returning in late March and this was his first victory.
“I was feeling good on the court. Physically I was feeling great,” Wawrinka said, per the ATP Tour website. “When you don’t win a match in more than a year, you start to think about it more than what you should and not focus on the right things.
“In general I think it was a great match, great battle. I stayed positive. I start to feel much better with my tennis by the end of the second set, and the third set. I’m really happy with this victory.”
Wawrinka created a big comeback to beat Opelka
The first break points of the match were seen in the sixth game, when Opelka broke Wawrinka for a 4-2 lead.Ā
Opelka then held on to his serve the rest of the set to win the opener.Ā
After winning the first set, Opelka earned the first break of the second set in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead.Ā
Opelka had a chance to go up by a double break but he missed on a break point in the seventh game.Ā
In the eighth game, Wawrinka broke back Opelka to level the set to four games apiece.Ā
Wawrinka then saved five break points in the 11th game to take a 6-5 lead, before breaking Opelka in the 12th game to win the second set.Ā
The two players were tied at two games apiece in the third set before Wawrinka claimed back-to-back breaks and won four games in a row to complete a comeback win.Ā