Out of action for some time, three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka's return was appreciated by the sport's best, Novak Djokovic.
Their match-up in Rome was their first in years after injuries have blighted the Swiss' chances of putting together any sort of form on the ATP Tour. It ended up going the way of Djokovic, with the 6-2, 6-2 win proving to be his 20th career victory over Wawrinka.
It was evident that the former Roland Garros champion was feeling the effects of the previous day's play, with Djokovic able to pull away early on and professionally hold out to win in two simple sets.
Post-match, the man from Serbia was very complimentary to such a seasoned pro like Wawrinka, the man who has been responsible for taking one or two Grand Slams off Djokovic over the years.
"It’s great to see a big champion like Stan back, winning two matches after a long time. We all know how important he has been for our sport in the last 10 years, winning three Slams, being an established top-five, top-10 player for many years."
It is not only results that have taken a nose-dive for the Swiss in recent times; his ranking has naturally fallen off as well. Currently propping up the 361st spot due to his year-long absence, he was bidding to become the lowest-ranked player to overcome a world number 1 at an ATP Tour level since 1990.
Despite not being able to do so, Djokovic understood how hard it is to stage a career comeback when one is injured. With this in mind, it was not necessarily a fair time for the two to go head-to-head, as the Swiss still has a long road to recovery ahead, according to Djokovic.
"Only he knows how difficult it was with all the surgeries and injuries he had to deal with. So of course you can see on the court that he’s slower than he was when he was playing at his best."
"I’m sure with his team he’s doing his best to get himself in the best shape, but it takes time. It’s also match play versus practice sessions, completely different."
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