Melbourne Jan 18 (IANS) The United States Tennys Sandgren on Thursday defeated ninth seed Stan Wawrinka 6-2 6-1 6-4 to qualify for the third round of the Australian Open tennis tournament.
Sandgren needed an hour and 28 minutes to eliminate eighth-ranked Wawrinka from his first tournament in 2018 reports Efe.
Wawrinka was suffering from a serious knee injury that had put him out of action for six months.
The 26-year-old American broke the 2014 Australian Open champion s serve five times out of 13 opportunities.
Sandgren is due to next face Germany s Maximilian Marterer who beat Spain s Fernando Verdasco 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-3 in three hours and 27 minutes.
--IANS
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