Former US Open champion Stan Wawrinka on Saturday won the second-tier Challenger tournament in Prague, on his return to action after a six-month break because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Wawrinka, the 2016 US Open winner, has elected to skip this year’s Grand Slam in New York citing the “health situation” in the city and instead focus on Roland Garros which starts on September 27.
World No 117 Wawrinka defeated 253rd-ranked Aslan Karatsev of Russia 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 in the Prague final on clay. In the match that lasted an hour and 44 minutes, Wawrinka managed to convert just one out of the six break point opportunities he created. But that was enough to seal his first straight-sets win at the event.
The three-time Grand Slam champion was playing in his first tournament since reaching the quarterfinals at Acapulco in February.
He won the last of his 16 ATP Tour titles at Geneva in 2017.
In the quarterfinal, Wawrinka survived a scare against India’s Sumit Nagal, who started brilliantly against three-time Grand Slam winner. Nagal took the first set but then wilted under the aggression from the Swiss star to bow out of the Prague Open in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Nagal took the first 6-2 at the Challenger event before the Swiss star stormed back into the match, winning 12 out the next 13 games.
In fact, before the final, Wawrinka dropped a set in each of the previous matches.
(With AFP inputs)