Stan Wawrinka Knocked Out In The First Round At Queen's

 

Stan Wawrinka's search for a first grass-court title goes on after the Swiss second seed was knocked out in his opening match at the Aegon Championships. In a match which was repeatedly delayed by wet weather at London's Queen's Club, Spaniard Fernando Verdasco eventually triumphed 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) in one hour and 28 minutes.

Despite his aggressive game, the closest Wawrinka has ever come to a trophy on grass was three years ago when he reached the final in s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands. Wawrinka has signed up 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek as a coach to work alongside Magnus Norman for this summer's spell on grass as he looks to improve his results on the surface. The new arrangement was to get off to a losing start as Verdasco, with his powerful forehand, claimed the opening set and then a tight second set in a tiebreak.

Verdasco said “I am very happy with today's win. It's always important to beat a player like Wawrinka. This is my first match of the season on grass and I'm very happy with the level that I played today”.

Wawrinka is the second seeded player to exit the event in as many matches after fourth seed Richard Gasquet lost on Monday to American Steve Johnson.