Triple grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka has suffered a setback in his comeback after retiring from his second round match at the Open 13 in Marseille.
Facing qualifier Ilya Ivashka, the Swiss top seed struggled with his movement throughout their encounter. Dropping his serve twice during the opening set against the world No.193. He eventually called it quits whilst trailing 4-6, 1-1, exiting the court on the verge of tears with a towel covering his head.
“The muscles have stiffened and I felt the pain in the kneecap.” Wawrinka said during his press conference. “Tomorrow morning I will look at the situation with my coach, the physio and the trainer to see how the knee reacts. This is a difficult evening “
Wishing @stanwawrinka all the best as he continues to rehab his knee. The Swiss retires and Ilya Ivashka goes through to the quarterfinal at @Open13 in Marseille.
Get well soon, Stan! 💪🙏#Open13 pic.twitter.com/ai1uVeIl8E
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 22 February 2018
Wawrinka returned to competitive tennis at the Australian Open following a six-month absence due to knee surgery. Earlier this week he told reporters in France that he still had a way to go, but was optimistic about the improvement of his injury. It is the second consecutive tournament where Wawrinka lost his opening match after crashing out to Tallon Griekspoor in Rotterdam last week.
Capitalising on his opponents misfortunes, Ivashka will play in his first ATP quarter-final at the age of 23. He will will take on French veteran Nicolas Mahut, who defeated sixth seed Gilles Muller 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
“I’m really pleased,” said Mahut. “Up against an excellent server like him, you’re always under pressure, for the duration of the match. And, in the beginning, I was pretty tense.”
Elsewhere at the tournament, Tomas Berdych required more than two hours to progress into the next round. Taking on Italy’s Stefano Travaglia, the fourth seed battled back from a set down to win 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3. Producing 12 aces and winning 67% of his service points.
Berdych, who hasn’t won a title since the 2016 Shenzhen Open, will play Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur on Friday.
