Struggling Swiss former winner Stan Wawrinka was knocked out of the Australian Open by American Tennys Sandgren in the second round on Thursday. The 97th-ranked Sandgren defeated ninth-seeded Wawrinka 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 and will next play Germany’s Maximilian Marterer. The three-time Grand Slam winner, who defeated Rafael Nadal to win the 2014 Australian Open, has slipped to nine in the world rankings and faces a battle to climb higher after his early round exit. He made the semi-finals at last year’s Australian Open where he lost to eventual champion Roger Federer in five sets. He has not played a competitive match prior to his first round Open win over Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis, having only decided to take part last weekend.

Source: Punch January 18, 2018 11:26 UTC