Former champion Stanislas Wawrinka regained flashes of his brilliant form to come back from behind and defeat Tallon Griekspoor with a score of 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, advancing to the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters tournament on Monday. Meanwhile, British player Andy Murray's first appearance in the tournament since 2017 ended in a loss to Alex de Minaur.
Wawrinka faced the danger of falling in the opening match for the second consecutive year after losing the closely contested first set. However, the 38-year-old found a way to return by dominating the second set and breaking his opponent's serve early in the deciding set. Griekspoor had previously defeated Wawrinka in their only meeting in 2018 and showed a lot of fight to level at 3-3, but he dropped his serve again, allowing the seasoned Swiss player to pull ahead and win the match on his sixth match point.
Wawrinka, the 2014 champion and the oldest player in this year's tournament, stated, "Staying calm was the key to winning today," adding, "In the first round, you always need to play your style; the first match on clay is never easy against a competitor of this quality. I am happy to qualify; it was important to fight until the end."
