ATP Tour

Wawrinka returns to winning ways in Umag, site of his first ATP title

Stan Wawrinka is back at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag, where he captured his maiden tour-level title in 2006. The Swiss won the championship match that year when his opponent Novak Djokovic retired at 6-6(1) due to breathing issues.

Fast forward to 2025, the 40-year-old Wawrinka kickstarted his sixth appearance at the ATP 250 on Monday with a 6-4, 6-1 win against Ecuadorian qualifier Alvaro Guillen Meza. It marks Wawrinka's second tour-level match win of the season and first since Bucharest in March.

"I won my first ATP title here, so it's always going to be a special place," said Wawrinka, who was a finalist in Umag in 2023. "I came here early to [adjust] to the conditions. It's never easy, but super happy with the win of course."

The former No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings will next face Damir Dzumhur in what will be their their fifth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting (2-2). 

In other Umag action, fifth seed Mariano Navone raced past Tomas Barrios Vera 6-1, 6-2 while Nikoloz Basilashvili downed sixth seed Roberto Carballes Baena 6-3, 6-4. Chun-Hsin Tseng overcame Giulio Zeppieri 7-5, 6-4 and Terence Atmane defeated 2019 champion Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4.