"I'm Happy To Be Here For Another Year": Wawrinka Starts 2020 With Win In Doha

Top seed Stan Wawrinka enjoyed a strong start in his first singles match of the 2020 ATP Tour season, defeating Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha.

Wawrinka, who also teamed up with Frances Tiafoe for a first-round win Monday in doubles, saved six of seven break points faced on serve while capitalising on three of his nine opportunities for the 87-minute victory. He improved to a perfect 7-0 record against Chardy.

"I'm really happy with the first match of the season after a few months without playing matches," said Wawrinka, the 2008 Doha finalist. "I think the level was good. I was really focussed, moving well also."

"I'm happy to be still playing at good level," he said. "I'm happy to be here for another year and hopefully a good one for me."

Wawrinka will next meet Aljaz Bedene, who advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Alexander Bublik. Wawrinka and Bedene will be facing off for a fifth time, and for a fourth time in the opening week of the season. They met three straight years in Chennai, splitting their first two meetings in the 2013-14 quarter-finals before Wawrinka triumphed in the 2015 final.

Running for the victory! I hope you are doing the same to start off 2020 properly! ????????‍♂️????????????????????????????????#Doha #Tennis #Enjoy #Run #Fun #StanTheMan #BringOn2020 pic.twitter.com/Q4mBO6za7j

— Stanislas Wawrinka (@stanwawrinka) January 7, 2020

First-round action also concluded Tuesday in Doha, with France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert defeating Italian wild card Marco Cecchinato 6-3, 6-4 in the final match on Center Court. Herbert, who claimed the doubles title last year alongside David Goffin, will next face fifth seed Laslo Djere, a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 winner over Italian Lorenzo Sonego.

Earlier in the day, eighth-seeded American Tiafoe succumbed to Hungarian qualifier Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 4-6, 6-4; Turkish wild card Cem Ilkel defeated Ricardas Berankis 6-2, 4-6, 6-2; and Kazahkstan's Mikhail Kukushkin dismissed Tunisian wild card Malek Jaziri 6-0, 6-3.

Watch: 'Extreme Driving' On Doha Dune Tour With Kukushkin

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Pavic/Soares Win Opener
Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares, the top seeds in the doubles draw, got their title campaign underway in Doha with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Egor Gerasimov and Kukushkin. Pavic won the doubles title here two years ago alongside Oliver Marach, and the pair went on to finish the season as the No. 1 duo. 

Following his defeat to Wawrinka, Chardy returned to the court in doubles and teamed up with countryman Fabrice Martin to defeat Divij Sharan and Artem Sitak 7-6(4), 6-2. Chardy and Martin, the No. 4 seeds this week, won a pair of titles last year in Marseille and Estoril and were also finalists at Roland Garros.