Wawrinka prevailed at the Murray River Open and lost the opening set against his Kazakh opponent in his first game of the season, but retained the composure to fight back and win 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Stan Wawrinka in action against Mikhail Kukushkin at the Murray River Open. AP
Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka fought his way past Mikhail Kukushkin on Wednesday to maintain his hopes for a first title since 2017 when he battled a case of COVID-19.
The Swiss 35-year-old, who won the first of his three Grand Slam titles in Melbourne in 2014, tested positive for the virus just before Christmas and disrupted his preparations.
He placed one at the Murray River Open and in his first Game of the season, he lost the opening set against his Kazakh opponent, but kept the composure to fight back and win 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
« It felt okay. I’m excited about it victory and I’m ready to start a new tournament, a new year, especially after a few months, « said Wawrinka, who last won an ATP title more than three times in Geneva years ago.
The Briton Dan Evans, who had the best season of his career in 2020 and climbed to a career high of 28, also stayed on the title hunt, as did the Australian James Duckworth, who upset the French seventh seed Ugo Humbert.
Teen Jannik Sinner, who became the youngest ATP champion in 12 years when he won in Sofia in November Another one of the winners.
The 19-year-old Italian played his first game since winning the cutlery in Bulgaria and beat Australian Aleksandar 6: 2, 6: 4 at the Great Ocean Road Open Vukic, who was played at Melbourne Park at the same time.
« The pressure is great because I want to be there to win games, » said Sinner.
While Sinner stood out, the two-time quarter-finalist from Australia was eliminated Open, Tennys Sandgren, who was beaten in three sets by the Italian Salvatore Caruso.
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The 39-year-old American, a seven-time Australian Open champion, started her lengthy search for a 24th Grand Slam individual title with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Daria Gavrilova on Monday in a tuning tournament in Melbourne Park .
World number 18 Wawrinka said his physical preparations for the slam at the start of the season had been affected by the setback.
Despite his immense talent, Kyrgios has not yet reached the quarter-finals in Grand Slams and has slipped to 47 in the world.
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