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The Grand Slam winners Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem were still a bit rusty on their tour comebacks at the ATP Challenger tournament in Marbella, but after their long stories of suffering they are finally optimistic about the future again.
Stan Wawrinka (ATP 232) takes positives from the two-set defeat against Sweden’s Elias Ymer on his comeback at the Challenger tournament in Marbella. Perhaps the most important statement from the Vaud native: “It was fun for me again.”
Of course there is a disappointment, said Wawrinka after the match against the 131st in the world rankings, “because I don’t like to lose.” But he was prepared for a difficult match and also for a defeat. And in fact he felt lost on the pitch at certain moments.
The 37-year-old also said: “There are many positive aspects, especially physically and in terms of my left foot.” He had to have two operations on his foot in 2021. “I’m happy that I could see where I stand. I have a lot of work ahead of me. The level of play that I already have makes me cheerful.”
The three-time Grand Slam tournament winner said he knew what he had to do. He will continue on his line. “In a few moments I was able to play in this match without thinking too much. In those moments I also played at a better level. But most of the time I asked myself a lot of questions, I was hesitant. That’s why I need games to find my automatisms again.”
He is confident about his future in the tournaments. “I have a lot of room for improvement, both technically and physically. It will be decisive where I stand in a few weeks. »
Training partner Thiem also loses
In the run-up to the tournament in Marbella, Wawrinka trained intensively with another tennis star: Dominic Thiem. The 2020 US Open champion is coming back from a long-term injury himself. Due to a hand operation, the Austrian has not played a tennis match since June 2021. Recently he had to postpone his return several times because he did not feel completely fit.
The 28-year-old lost 6-3 and 4-6 to Pedro Cachin, number 228 in the world, after 81 minutes. “It was important that there were no physical problems. But of course a lot of things are rusty,” summarizes Thiem. They are things that will only come back with many matches.
He later stated in an Instagram post that it was a day with “great emotions and mixed feelings”. “You can imagine how happy I was today to be on the tennis court doing what I love most: playing tennis and competing again.” Thiem went on to say that the defeat was the “bitter part”. «After all these months, all the setbacks I’ve had in recent months, I’ve been able to play again and feel the adrenaline of competition. I felt like a player again.”
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