Stan Wawrinka made to work for his victory at St Petersburg Open

ATP Tour
Stan Wawrinka on the run

Stan Wawrinka was given a tough workout by Aljaz Bedene in the opening round of the St Petersburg Open.

The three-time Grand Slam winner, who is still on the comeback trail after undergoing knee surgery, beat Bedene 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) in one hour and 49 minutes.

Next up for the Swiss veteran is local hero and fourth seed Karen Khachanov, who had a bye in the first round.

In the only other match on Monday, Slovakian Martin Klizan eased past Russian Evgeny Donskoy 6-4, 6-4 to set up second-round encounter against second seed Fabio Fognini.

French Open finalist Dominic Thiem is the top seed and he will only be in action on Wednesday.

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