Stan Wawrinka beats Ilya Ivashka after rain delay at Italian Open

ROME: Stan Wawrinka wasted little time securing a 6-2, 6-4 win over Ilya Ivashka in the first round of the Italian Open on Wednesday after the start was delayed for 90 minutes due to rain.

At age 38, Wawrinka is the oldest man in the tournament but he dominated Ivashka by hitting more than twice as many winners as his opponent, including one on his first match point to close it out in little more than an hour.

Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion, next faces 26th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, with the winner potentially meeting top-ranked Novak Djokovic in the third round.

Djokovic, who has a first-round bye, will open against Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who advanced with a 7-6 (7), 6-3 win over 18-year-old Luca Van Assche, the youngest player in the top 100 of the rankings at No. 85.

Also, Marton Fucsovics defeated Filip Krajinovic 6-4, 6-2 and Sebastian Baez beat Juan Pablo Varillas 7-5, 6-3.

In women’s action, Sloane Stephens beat Nadia Podoroska 6-4, 6-1 and next meets 14th-seeded Victoria Azarenka.

Moreover, Magdalena Frech beat Matilde Paoletti 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, Anna Bondár beat Tatjana Maria 6-4, 6-1, Ana Bogdan beat Naoi Hibino 7-5, 6-0, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Sara Errani 6-1, 6-1, Camila Osorio beat Varvara Gracheva 7-6, 1-6, 7-6, Elisabetta Cocciaretto beat Lauren Davis 6-3, 6-0, Taylor Townsend beat Ysaline Bonaventure 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, Lesia Tsurenko beat Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-3, Elena-Gabriela Ruse beat Linda Fruhvirtova 6-1, 6-0, Yulia Putintseva beat Viktoriya Tomova 6-7, 7-6, 6-0 to reach the second round on Wednesday.

In men’s action, Tomas Martin Etcheverry beat Luca Van Assche 7-6, 6-3, Cristian Garín beat Pedro Cachín 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, Wu Yibing beat Richard Gasquet 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, Alexandre Muller beat Kyle Edmund 6-1, 6-3, Alexander Bublik beat Pedro Martínez 6-3, 7-6 to reach the second round. Agencies

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