Stan Wawrinka earns a record to forget for himself as he crashes out in the first round of the Shanghai Masters

Dušan Lajović beat Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 7-6 in the first round of Shanghai Masters 2023.

Stan Wawrinka earns a record to forget for himself as he crashes out in the first round of the Shanghai Masters

Stan Wawrinka (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Swiss tennis international Stan Wawrinka suffered a shocking defeat against Serbia’s Dušan Lajović in the very first round of the ongoing Shanghai Masters and got eliminated way too soon in the ATP 1000s event. Following this loss, Wawrinka has now set a record that he will definitely not be satisfied with. 

This was Stan Wawrinka’s fifth consecutive defeat against opponents who are ranked outside of the ATP’s top 50 ranked players, and this is the first time that it has occurred in the Swiss player’s career since he broke into the ATP’s top 100 players list back in 2005. The 38-year-old is clearly going through a rough patch, and he better find a way out of it soon. 

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In the match between Dušan Lajović and Stan Wawrinka, the Serbian seemingly had the upper hand from the very beginning. He won the first set convincingly, which put Wawrinka under pressure, and he upped his game in the second set. Although he managed to tie the second set, his efforts were not enough to take the match into the third set, as Lajovic won the tiebreaker and ended up winning the match. 

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Stan Wawrinka’s display has not been great lately. He failed to impress the masses in all of the Grand Slams this season, having reached the third round in the US Open and Wimbledon Open and the second round in the French Open. He suffered a first-round elimination in the Australian Open as well. His only notable performance this season came at the Cincinnati Open, where he reached the round of 16.

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When will Stan Wawrinka retire? 

Stan Wawrinka
Stan Wawrinka (Source: ATP Tour)

Stan Wawrinka is 38 years old now, and seeing his recent downfall, many fans have opined that he should consider retiring now. However, the Swiss international made it clear at the very start of the season that he wishes to continue playing, at least for a few more years. 

Quashing the rumors that suggested that he might play his last season in 2023, Stan Wawrinka had said in January, “I didn’t try so hard to have to quit in a few months. I didn’t get so fit for just one season. And at the same time, it is clear that you never know what can happen. But honestly, I want to last a few more years.”

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