French Open champion Wawrinka produced a dazzling performance in the Tokyo sunshine, the tournament's top seed unleashing a series of jaw-dropping backhands that left his opponent shaking his head in disbelief.
“After last year I'm just happy to play well and get through the match,” said Wawrinka, who was eliminated by Japan's Tatsuma Ito in the first round last year in a stunning upset and faces the same player in his next match.
“(Ito) is tough to play against, but obviously I'll try to play better than I did last year and hopefully continue to play well all week,” added Wawrinka, chasing a fourth title of the year and the 11th of his career.
The spindly Stepanek wore the timid expression of a man hoping to avoid having sand kicked in his face by his hulking opponent, and Wawrinka's one-handed backhand — one of the most potent weapons in men's tennis — bullied the Czech into submission.
It effectively settled the first set as he chased down a decent Stepanek volley to whip the ball back past his opponent, breaking his resistance.
He ripped another down the line to break at the start of the second set, celebrating with a roar and a pump of his fist, and thereafter was not
seriously threatened.
Wawrinka, who made his grand slam breakthrough at last year's Australian Open after years spent in the shadow of countryman Roger Federer, delivered the coup de grace with his 11th ace to wrap up only his second win over Stepanek in six meetings.
Wawrinka's quest for a first Tokyo title promises to be a difficult one, with defending champion Kei Nishikori arguably a slight favourite to capture his third Japan Open on a court he has owned in recent years.
Meanwhile, Australians Bernard Tomic and Sam Groth both retired after dropping the first sets in their respective first-round matches.
The controversial Tomic, who earlier this year launched a tirade against Australian tennis officials for a perceived “lack of respect” towards him, blamed sickness for throwing in the towel against American Steve Johnson while losing 6-3, 2-1.
Groth sprained his right ankle while trailing Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 2-0.
In other matches, Luxembourg's Gilles Muller upset fifth seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-2, 6-3, while Cyprus's former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis beat Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-1.
TENNIS
Wawrinka muscles through to Japan victory
Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka muscled into the second round of the Japan Open tennis tournament on Tuesday with a bludgeoning 7-5, 6-3 victory over Czech Radek Stepanek.
ROGER FEDERER
Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?
Roger Federer is talking optimistically about returning to his "highest level" after knee surgery, but does tennis have to start adjusting to a future without the Swiss star?
The 20-time Grand Slam winner announced on Wednesday that he would be sidelined until 2021 after his second operation in a matter of months.
Federer remains upbeat, tweeting: “I plan to take the necessary time to be 100 percent ready to play at my highest level.”
In some ways 2020 is a good season to miss after the coronavirus ravaged the tennis schedule. Writing Federer off in the past has proved dangerous.
He returned from a six-month injury lay-off to claim the Australian Open in 2017, winning his eighth Wimbledon crown later that year.
But he will be 40 in 2021 and is now heading into uncharted territory.
Despite his groaning trophy cabinet, there are two factors that will motivate Federer to keep going — the risk of losing his grip on the men's Grand Slam title record and a missing Olympics singles gold medal.
Rafael Nadal has 19 majors, just one shy of Federer's mark and Djokovic has 17.
Spain's Nadal will be fancied to draw level with Federer at the French Open, rescheduled for September, while few would bet against Djokovic winning in New York weeks earlier.
In April, Federer said he was “devastated” when Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since World War II. Last year he fell agonisingly short at the All England Club, failing to convert two championship points on his own serve against Djokovic.
The Wimbledon grass probably remains his best chance of adding to his Grand Slam collection — he has not won the US Open since 2008 and his only title at Roland Garros came in 2009.
Even though Federer has slipped from the very pinnacle of the game, he is still a major threat to Nadal and Djokovic.
'Golden' ambitions
Last year, the world number four had a 53-10 win-loss record and he reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January in his only tournament this year.
Federer, who is still six ATP titles short of Jimmy Connors' all-time record of 109, has one glaring omission from his CV — the Olympic title.
The Swiss won doubles gold in Beijing in 2008 with compatriot Stan Wawrinka but lost in the singles final to Andy Murray in London four years later.
The postponed Tokyo Games will almost certainly be Federer's last opportunity to complete a career “golden” Grand Slam — he will turn 40 on the day of the closing ceremony next year.
Tennis will feel the loss of the elegant Federer keenly when he walks off the court for the last time.
Djokovic and Nadal have been the dominant forces in recent years but the Swiss remains the biggest draw and last month topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-earning athletes.
His last appearance on court was in front of nearly 52,000 fans — touted by organisers as a world record for tennis — at a charity match against Nadal in Cape Town in February.
Federer is nearly always the crowd favourite wherever he plays and has proved a perfect ambassador for the sport since he won his first Grand Slam title in 2003.
He certainly expects to be back and competitive next year.
“I will be missing my fans and the tour dearly but I will look forward to seeing everyone back on tour at the start of the 2021 season,” he tweeted.
The avalanche of support from his adoring fans showed they would miss him too, but they will have to get used to a time when he is gone for good.
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