PARIS Mon May 26, 2014 5:45pm EDT
Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland returns a forehand to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain during their men's singles match at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris May 26, 2014.
Credit: Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes
<span id="articleText"/> PARIS (Reuters) - Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka was preparing for a period of deep introspection after a shock French Open first-round defeat against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on Monday.
<span id="midArticle_0"/> The third-seeded Swiss, who has Samuel Beckett's 'Fail Better' quote tattooed on his left arm, did not look for excuses as he became the tournament's first major casualty, losing 6-4 5-7 6-2 6-0 to the world No.41 from Spain.
<span id="midArticle_1"/> "I need to put the puzzle back together, but differently than in the past, because now - after winning a grand slam, being No.3 in the world - everything is different, and I still didn't find all the pieces," he told reporters.
<span id="midArticle_2"/> "Everything has changed this year for me. On the positive side, of course, but it's new challenges, new things that you have to manage, new solutions you need to find, and I want to do that."
<span id="midArticle_3"/> Wawrinka, tipped as a potential champion, is the first Australian Open champion to be defeated in the first round of the following French Open since Czech Petr Korda in 1998.
<span id="midArticle_4"/> "I have to look at the future because I can't change the result. It's about what I want and the way I want it," he said.
<span id="midArticle_5"/> Victory over fellow Swiss and mentor Roger Federer in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters at the start of the claycourt season appeared to have underlined Wawrinka's arrival at the very top of the game.
<span id="midArticle_6"/> However, his year has been patchy and he arrived in Paris struggling for form.
<span id="midArticle_7"/> "It's been different since the beginning of the year. I had a difficult period after Miami, I've had ups and downs," he said. "The pressure is different and my expectations are different. Everything goes so well in practice and then I am very demanding of myself during matches."
<span id="midArticle_8"/> "I could see myself playing bad but there are days like that and I need to accept that," he added.
<span id="midArticle_9"/> Wawrinka led 3-1 in the first set only to let it slip away and although he took the second the third and fourth sets were ones he will want to forget quickly.
<span id="midArticle_10"/> "I think I was really close to completely changing the match but in the end I lost the last two sets 6-2 6-0," said Wawrinka, who racked up 62 unforced errors.
<span id="midArticle_11"/> "In the first set I should not have lost after leading 3-1. I was completely flat, I was not aggressive. Everything was terrible."
<span id="midArticle_12"/> Having just won his maiden grand slam title, Wawrinka was left to reflect on the level of consistency achieved by the top players in the game - starting with Federer who has a record 17 major titles to his name.
<span id="midArticle_13"/> "I can appreciate what they do, how incredible this is. Sometimes you just don't realize how tough what they achieve is," he said.
<span id="midArticle_14"/><span id="midArticle_15"/> (Reporting By Robert Woodward; editing by Julien Pretot)
<span id="midArticle_16"/>
Credit: Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes
<span id="articleText"/> PARIS (Reuters) - Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka was preparing for a period of deep introspection after a shock French Open first-round defeat against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on Monday.
<span id="midArticle_0"/> The third-seeded Swiss, who has Samuel Beckett's 'Fail Better' quote tattooed on his left arm, did not look for excuses as he became the tournament's first major casualty, losing 6-4 5-7 6-2 6-0 to the world No.41 from Spain.
<span id="midArticle_1"/> "I need to put the puzzle back together, but differently than in the past, because now - after winning a grand slam, being No.3 in the world - everything is different, and I still didn't find all the pieces," he told reporters.
<span id="midArticle_2"/> "Everything has changed this year for me. On the positive side, of course, but it's new challenges, new things that you have to manage, new solutions you need to find, and I want to do that."
<span id="midArticle_3"/> Wawrinka, tipped as a potential champion, is the first Australian Open champion to be defeated in the first round of the following French Open since Czech Petr Korda in 1998.
<span id="midArticle_4"/> "I have to look at the future because I can't change the result. It's about what I want and the way I want it," he said.
<span id="midArticle_5"/> Victory over fellow Swiss and mentor Roger Federer in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters at the start of the claycourt season appeared to have underlined Wawrinka's arrival at the very top of the game.
<span id="midArticle_6"/> However, his year has been patchy and he arrived in Paris struggling for form.
<span id="midArticle_7"/> "It's been different since the beginning of the year. I had a difficult period after Miami, I've had ups and downs," he said. "The pressure is different and my expectations are different. Everything goes so well in practice and then I am very demanding of myself during matches."
<span id="midArticle_8"/> "I could see myself playing bad but there are days like that and I need to accept that," he added.
<span id="midArticle_9"/> Wawrinka led 3-1 in the first set only to let it slip away and although he took the second the third and fourth sets were ones he will want to forget quickly.
<span id="midArticle_10"/> "I think I was really close to completely changing the match but in the end I lost the last two sets 6-2 6-0," said Wawrinka, who racked up 62 unforced errors.
<span id="midArticle_11"/> "In the first set I should not have lost after leading 3-1. I was completely flat, I was not aggressive. Everything was terrible."
<span id="midArticle_12"/> Having just won his maiden grand slam title, Wawrinka was left to reflect on the level of consistency achieved by the top players in the game - starting with Federer who has a record 17 major titles to his name.
<span id="midArticle_13"/> "I can appreciate what they do, how incredible this is. Sometimes you just don't realize how tough what they achieve is," he said.
<span id="midArticle_14"/><span id="midArticle_15"/> (Reporting By Robert Woodward; editing by Julien Pretot)
<span id="midArticle_16"/>
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