ATP Tour

Wawrinka plays final clay match in Estoril, where Burruchaga & Borges score wins

Stan Wawrinka threatened a remarkable comeback on Tuesday at the Millennium Estoril Open, but Roman Andres Burruchaga held his nerve to seal a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory over the 41-year-old.

When Wawrinka lasered a trademark one-handed backhand down the line to save his third match point, hopes briefly rose that his clay-court career at tour-level might not yet be over. However, the three-time major champion, competing in his final season, was unable to stave off a fourth opportunity when Burruchaga completed the two-hour, 28-minute win.

Following their opening-round clash at the ATP 250 event, Tournament Director Joao Zilhao presented Wawrinka with a commemorative gift: an imprint marking the Swiss legend's final appearance on the Estoril clay, which also represents the last clay-court event of his career.

“I grew up on clay. I grew up practising on clay and watching clay-court tournaments, so clay was always special for me,” said Wawrinka, who boasts a 202-124 tour-level record on the surface, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

With victory in their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, Burruchaga advanced to face Portuguese No. 1 Nuno Borges, who earlier launched his home campaign with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Brazilian qualifier Orlando Luz. The fifth seed became just the second Portuguese man to record five match wins in Estoril, joining Joao Sousa (7).

Former champion Pablo Carreno Busta, who lifted the Estoril trophy in 2017, also made a strong start with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Vilius Gaubas. The former No. 10 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will next take on France's Luca Van Assche.

Two lucky losers also capitalised on their second chance on Tuesday. Kyrian Jacquet rallied past last week's Umag champion Daniel Merida 1-6, 6-1, 7-5, while Timofey Skatov defeated Jesper de Jong 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 to book a second-round meeting with top seed and Bastad champion Andrey Rublev.