Champion Wawrinka gets title defence off to flying start

Wednesday, 21 January 2015 01:37 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Stan Wawrinka’s title defence got off to a flying start at the Australian Open on Tuesday, the Swiss easing past Turkish battler Marsel Ilhan 6-1 6-4 6-2 to reach the second round.

Though struggling to land his first serve, the fourth seed barely broke a sweat on a steamy day at Melbourne Park, blasting 34 winners to wrap up the match in less than one and a half hours at Rod Laver Arena. Wawrinka raised a gasp from the crowd when he took a tumble on the court stretching for a volley late in the first set, but was untroubled thereafter and sealed the one-sided contest with a cross-court volley. He will play the winner of Romanian qualifier Marius Copil and Spaniard Pablo Andujar in the next round.