Wimbledon: Stan Wawrinka takes place on the London lawn

Three sets, 1h49 of play, and a convincing performance: Stan Wawrinka’s 18th Wimbledon could hardly have started better than on Monday on Court No. 2 at Church Road. Facing British guest Charles Broom (ATP 248), the Vaudois won 6-3 7-5 6-4.

Solid on his serve, which is crucial on grass perhaps even more than on other surfaces, “Stan The Man” took advantage of a temporary drop in form from Broom at 3-2 – three unforced errors on his forehand and a nasty volley – to win the first set in 23 minutes.

Suddenly more enterprising, the Briton quickly led 3-0 then 5-2 in the 2nd. But Wawrinka saved four second-set points and turned the situation around with a great deal of chopped forehands against a suddenly fragile Broom, particularly on the net volley.

After winning five games in a row, the three-time Grand Slam winner added three more at the start of a third set that he controlled from start to finish. “Stanimal” will challenge Frenchman Gaël Monfils (33rd) on Wednesday in his second round match, who beat his compatriot Adrian Mannarino (24th) in four sets (6-4 3-6 7-5 6-4) on Monday.

“It wasn’t easy in the second set. You were down 2-5 and saved several set points. Did the experience help you?” the interviewer asked him. “I hope so. At least being old helps me,” he replied, clearly very inspired.

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