Still reeling from knee surgeries, former champion Stan Wawrinka has lost a five-set battle to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the first round of the French Open.

Last year’s finalist lasted three and a half hours before bowing out with a 6-2 3-6 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 loss to the 67th-ranked Spaniard.

Returning to the place where he claimed the second of his three grand slam titles did not help Wawrinka shake off his poor form. The Swiss player, No.30 in the world, looked a shadow of the player who won the title in Paris three years ago, struggling with his serve and hitting 72 unforced errors.

Wawrinka did not go down easily, though, and put on a big fight during a match that produced some spectacular baseline rallies. But he was ultimately made to pay for his inconsistent display.

“There is no frustration, it’s just tough,” Wawrinka said. “But I’m on the right way. It was very close today.”

Wawrinka has struggled with his fitness after undergoing knee surgeries in August. This was only his 11th match of the year.

Garcia-Lopez had already upset Wawrinka in the first round at Roland Garros when they met in Paris four years ago. He will next play Karen Khachanov of Russia.

The pair was joined in the second round by former champion Novak Djokovic, who advanced with a 6-3 6-4 6-4 win over qualifier Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil.

Third seed Dominic Thiem was too strong for Ilya Ivashka of Belarus, winning 6-2 6-4 6-1 while 13th seed Roberto Bautista-Agut moved through in five sets over Denis Istomin.

Elsewhere, rising Greek teen Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced at the expense of Carlos Taberner in four sets, while there were also wins for Benoit Paire, Karen Khachanov, Cameron Norrie and Dusan Lajovic.

Argentina’s Marco Trungelliti took a longer path than most to Paris but a 10-hour drive proved fruitful after his surprise 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-4 win over Bernard Tomic.

Trungelliti arrived in the French capital after midnight after getting a late call-up following the withdrawal of Tomic’s compatriot Nick Kyrgios.