LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 19: Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland celebrates match point after his First Round Singles Match against Daniel Evans of Great Britain during day Three of the Fever-Tree Championships at Queens Club on June 19, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Stan Wawrinka was made to fight for victory against Mikhail Kukushkin in Melbourne today as the summer of tennis continued ahead of next week’s Australian Open.
The Swiss 35-year-old, who won in Melbourne in 2014, lost the opening set against his Kazakh opponent but kept cool to fight back and win 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
“It felt okay. I’m happy to get the win and I’m ready to start a new tournament, a new year, especially after a few months out,” Wawrinka said,
He will play Australian Alex Bolt in the third round.
Britain’s Dan Evans, who had the best season of his career in 2020, also had a good day, beating Portugal’s Pedro Sousa 6-3 7-5 to set up a meeting with Canada’s Marcos Giron.
Australian James Duckworth upset French seventh seed Ugo Humbert and Italian teen sensation Jannik Sinner swept past Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic 6-2, 6-4 in the Great Ocean Road Open.
“The pressure is on, because I want to be there trying to win matches,” Sinner said.
“But I’m also trying to enjoy playing tennis. That’s the most important thing for me.”
2020 Australian Open quarter-finalist Tennys Sandgren was beate in three sets by Italy’s Salvatore Caruso 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-1.
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