Former French Open champion Stan Wawrinka registered his win on the senior circuit for 15 months when he beat the 14th seed Reilly Opelka 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 on Monday at the Italian Open in Rome.
Wawrinka, 37, a former world number three, has fallen to 350 in the rankings after struggling with an injury to his left foot.
He returned to the second tier challenger circuit in March in Marbella but he lost in the opening round and he suffered the same fate last month at the Monte Carlo Masters where he claimed the crown in 2014.
After going a break down in the second set, the 2015 French Open champion rallied via some trademark sweeping backhands to register his first victory on the senior circuit since the first round of the Australian Open in 2021.
The Swiss who also claimed Grand Slam tournament titles at the Australian Open and the US Open, will play Laslo Djere from Serbia for a place in the last 16.
Elsewhere, the 13th seed Denis Shapovalov took just over three hours to see off the local hero Lorenzo Sonego.
Shapovalov saved a set point on the way to winning the opener in the tiebreak. But he cracked towards the end of the second set under the constant barracking from the partisans. At 40-40, while trying to level at 4-4, a second serve was called out. But the 23-year-old Canadian disputed the call with the umpire and crossed the net – a code violation – to show where he believed the ball had landed. (RFI)
