Australian Open Champ Wawrinka Stunned at Roland Garros
The third-ranked player in the world and defending Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka bowed out of the French Open early on Monday, losing to Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 in the first round at Roland Garros.
The Swiss has now been bounced early in three tournaments since winning the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. He also played sloppy tennis all afternoon, committing 62 unforced errors and having had his serve broken eight times by the Spaniard as Garcia-Lopez seemed to dictate the match throughout. It was his 11th career victory over a top 10 player and his second this season.
“I had my foot on the accelerator 80 percent and when you play this kind of player, the tray and destabilize you, but he did not manage because I felt strongly today,” said Garcia-Lopez, who has never advanced further than the third round at the French Open. “And I think at the end of the day what made him lose was that he was not so strong mentally, whereas I felt very comfortable.”
The Spaniard committed just 28 unforced errors himself and seemed to be the more poised player. Wawrinka converted just 54 percent of his serves into points and could never find his rhythm. It is the earliest exit by the defending Australian Open champion at the French Open since Petr Kordra in 1998.
“It’s a tough loss, for sure,” said Wawrinka as he searched for answers regarding his recent struggles. “I’m sad, but maybe it’s going to be very positive for the rest of my season. Maybe it will put my ideas in the right place, and maybe it will give me answers to the questions I have for the rest of my season, for the rest of my career.”
Garcia-Lopez now moves on to face off with France’s Adrian Mannarino, who knocked off Chinese Taipei’s Yen Hsun Lu in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1.
