Three-time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka believes he is heading in the right direction as he continues his comeback from a knee injury.
The former world No.3 missed six months of the tour after undergoing surgery on his left knee. He returned to action last month at the Australian Open, where he lost in the second round to Tennys Sandgren. It was the first time he lost in the second round at Melbourne since 2008.
Despite the defeat, Wawrinka is relishing his return to the tour. His next challenge will be at this week’s Sofia Open in Bulgaria where he is the top seed. Wawrinka steps in to replace Grigor Dimitrov, who pulled out of the tournament due to a shoulder problem.
“I am really happy to come for the first time in Bulgaria, in Sofia. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the tournament.” He said during an interview with Nova TV.
“I came back from Australia with a lot of work to do for my knee, for my tennis-wise. I felt better this week, so I decided that it may be a good option for me to start a little bit earlier with tournaments.”
Chasing after his first title since May, the 32-year-old believes that he is gradually returning back to top form. The Swiss player currently finds himself at 15th in the ATP Emirates rankings due to his recent absence. In Sofia he will be aiming to win back-to-back matches for the first time since his run to the French Open final.
“I am feeling better and better and starting to come back to my top level. I am happy with all the improvement I am making and I am happy to back in the tour.” He explained.
Wawrinka is eager to not be labelled a favourite for the title due to his recent injury woes. Although he is the only top 20 player participating in this year’s draw, the Swiss admits that he still has a way to go to return back to his best tennis.
“I always come into a tournament to play my best tennis. I am not even there yet.” He said.
“I didn’t play for six months and I had only one tournament in Australia. So I think it isn’t easy. I know what I can do, I know what my level can be when I am playing good tennis. But first of all I am really happy to be back on the Tour and to come to Sofia for the first time.”
Handed a first round bye, Wawrinka will get his Sofia campaign underway against either wild card entrant Alexander Donski or a yet to be decided qualifier.
List of seeds at the 2018 Sofia Open
| Player | Rank | Seed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stan Wawrinka | 15 | 1 | |
| Adrian Mannarino | 25 | 2 | |
| Gilles Müller | 28 | 3 | |
| Philipp Kohlschreiber | 35 | 4 | |
| Robin Haase | 42 | 5 | |
| Viktor Troicki | 67 | 6 | |
| João Sousa | 68 | 7 | |
| Evgeny Donskoy | 71 | 8 |
Note: rankings based on week commencing 5/2/18
