Wawrinka comeback pace slows to a crawl

Stan Wawrinka’s injury comeback hit another roadblock on Monday as the three-time Grand Slam champion Swiss was knocked out in the first round of the ATP event in Sweden.

Wawrinka lost his opener in Bastad 7-5, 6-4 in 85 minutes to Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta.

The clay 250 tournament was the second event in a row where the 37-year-old Wawrinka had gone out in the first round after losing at Wimbledon.

Wawrinka missed more than a year due to knee surgeries and began his return with a Rome third round in March. But his progress has slowed considerably since then with a record this season of 3-6 at the Tour level.

 “It was a very tough match for me in the first round,” Carreno Busta said.

“Against Stan it’s a very difficult to start the tournament, so I’m happy because I thought my level was good. 

“I played very solid from the baseline. It was a bit difficult with the wind, but I thought my serve was very good throughout the match. It was very important to my game.”

Wawrinka sent over 10 aces but two breaks of his serve was enough for PCB to earn the second round.

Sweden’s Elias Ymer, the only local in the 32-man draw, advanced over German Daniel Altmaier 6-4, 7-6(5) and now plays third seed Diego Schwartzman.