Wawrinka clinches just second win of 2018

Sofia - Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka clinched just his second win of 2018 on Thursday when he defeated Slovak qualifier Martin Klizan 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the Sofia ATP quarter-finals. 

The 32-year-old Wawrinka, who missed six months of the 2017 season to undergo two knee surgeries after Wimbledon, will face Viktor Troicki of Serbia on Friday for a place in the semi-finals. 

"I expected a tough match," world number 15 Wawrinka told atpworldtour.com. "He's already played a few matches here." 

Wawrinka had won just one match this year before the Bulgaria tournament, seeing off Ricardas Berankis at the Australian Open in January before falling to Tennys Sandgren of the United States.

Results from the ATP Sofia Open on Thursday (x denotes seeding):

2nd rd

Stan Wawrinka (SUI x1) bt Martin Klizan (SVK) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3

Viktor Troicki (SRB x6) bt Denis Istomin (UZB) 7-6 (7/4), 1-6, 7-6 (7/5)

Maximilian Marterer (GER) bt Joo Sousa (POR x7) 7-5, 7-6 (8/6)

Marius Copil (ROM) bt Blaz Kavcic (SLO) 6-2, 6-2

Gilles Muller (LUX x3) bt Andreas Seppi (ITA) 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/2)

Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) bt Adrian Mannarino (FRA x2) 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-1