Wimbledon 2018: Stan Wawrinka digs deep to see off Grigor Dimitrov in first-round battle
The three-times Grand Slam champion made his return to tennis at the Australian Open in January after undergoing knee surgery
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Your support makes all the difference.Stan Wawrinka’s comeback from a long-term injury has been every bit as difficult as those experienced by Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, but the 33-year-old Swiss finally had his reward for months of pain and hard work when he beat Grigor Dimitrov 1-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 here on the opening day of Wimbledon.
Like Djokovic and Murray, Wawrinka did not play in the last six months of last year. The three-times Grand Slam champion came back at the Australian Open in January after undergoing knee surgery, but has struggled to find his form and is currently No 225 in the world rankings. At Eastbourne last week he had the misfortune to be drawn in the first round against Murray, who beat him in straight sets.
When Wawrinka saw that he had been paired with Dimitrov in the first round here he might have thought that luck was not on his side, but the 27-year-old Bulgarian has also been struggling for form. He has rarely looked at his best since enjoying the biggest victory of his career in the Nitto ATP Finals in London last November.
Wawrinka lost the first set in just 23 minutes, but the Swiss worked his way back into contention and took a hold on the match by winning the tie-breaks 7-3 and 7-5.
“I've been practising so hard the last few weeks on grass to get my level there, to be ready for a big match, to know that I can count on my game,” he said.
“I had to put myself together again, to try to fight, try to find a solution. I also knew before the match that it was tough for Grigor to play against me in the first round, especially as he’s also looking for confidence. He hadn’t won so many big matches recently.”
Dimitrov, who reached the semi-finals here four years ago and had not lost in the first round for nine years, found it hard to explain his defeat.
“He was just the better player today, just simple as that,” he said. “He served big when he had to, hit the big shots when he had to. That made a difference. The score speaks for itself.”
Marin Cilic, last year's runner-up, beat Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Sam Querrey, who beat Murray last year before going out in the semi-finals, beat Australian’s Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-4, 6-3.
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