Stan Wawrinka is also unable to polish up his Swiss record at the US Open. The 39-year-old from Vaud loses in the first round against qualifier Mattia Bellucci from Italy 4:6, 6:7 (5:7), 3:6.
The 2016 champion struggled badly on his return in particular and was only able to break the world number 101's serve once. This is the first time since the 2020 US Open that no Swiss men or women have reached the second round of a Grand Slam tournament.
Wawrinka, who was only eligible to compete thanks to a wild card, was able to count on the huge support of the crowd, but had little to offer the sixteen years younger left-hander from Lombardy. Often under pressure with his own service due to less than 50 percent first serves, he was always chasing a deficit. After two and a quarter hours, Bellucci achieved his first victory at Grand Slam level after first round defeats in Australia, Paris and Wimbledon.
With only five wins this year, Wawrinka also lacks the necessary conviction and self-confidence, although he says he plays well in training. In the rankings, he will fall back to around position 225 in ten days' time. It would therefore not come as a complete surprise if he had played his last match in New York against Bellucci.
The three-time Grand Slam winner managed his only break in the first set to level the score at 3:3, but immediately gave up his serve again. After that, he only had one break chance, at 2:2 in the third set. Immediately afterwards, the Italian took the first set 4:2. In the tie-break of the second set, only one point went to the return player - the last one to make it 7:5 for Bellucci.
SDA
