Wimbledon: Fabbiano stuns Wawrinka, advances to 3rd round

Italian qualifier Thomas Fabbiano on Thursday knocked out former world No. 3 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-6 (9-7), 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) to book a place in the third round of Wimbledon, equaling his best run ever in a Grand Slam tournament.

The match was played over two days, as rain and nightfall forced the encounter to be suspended on Wednesday while the Italian, world No. 133, was trailing 5-6 in the third set and on serve, reports Efe.

When the match was resumed, Fabbiano held serve and managed to clinch the third set tie-break, earning his first career win over Wawrinka, who struggled to regain form.

 

The three-time Grand champion Wawrinka, currently world No. 224, missed the later part of the last season due to a knee injury that required surgery.

Next up for Fabbiano, who had reached the 2017 US Open third round, will be Stefano Tsitsipas of Greece, who defeated United States' Jared Donaldson 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3.

--IANS

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