Stan Wawrinka fascinates like in his best times and advances to the 3rd round of the Australian Open after a four-and-a-half-hour thriller - for the first time since 2020.
22.01.2026, 16:20
22.01.2026, 16:47
SDA
After a good four and a half hours of exhaustion, Stan Wawrinka is "exhausted", as he says himself - and in a joking mood. "Maybe I'll get myself a beer now. I think I've earned it," he says in the on-court interview. And how he had.
Wawrinka turned back the clock once again at Melbourne Park. Mats Wilander wanted to know whether he had played his backhand better than ever before from the 40-year-old Vaud native, who smiled knowingly and replied: "Unfortunately not." Wawrinka naturally knows that he is no longer quite at the level of his best days physically and tennis-wise, when he won the Australian Open in 2014 and then two more Grand Slam tournaments and became world no. 3.
Fitter than his young opponent
Where he hasn't lost anything, however, is in his passion for his sport. He showed this on Thursday against the up-and-coming qualifier Arthur Gea from France. For five sets, the two fought a duel on a knife's edge. Wawrinka won the fourth set with a break to 7:5 thanks to a backhand passing shot that was indeed reminiscent of his best times.
And in the deciding set, the oldie ultimately had the better legs than his 19-year-old opponent, who was plagued by cramp. Wawrinka clearly won the match tie-break 10:3. He played the 58th five-setter of his career (31st win), Gea the first.
Gea said before the match: "In my opinion, it must be difficult to move your legs at the age of 40. That's why I'll try to tire him out." Four and a half hours later, the Frenchman had cramps. Wawrinka posted an emoji of an old man on social media.
The oldest since 1978
The tournament bosses hesitated for a long time before awarding the last wild card to the Swiss. His strong performances at the United Cup should have convinced them, and now they are both being rewarded. Wawrinka wows the fans and, with the small check pattern on his shirt, reminds them of the old days when he won the French Open 2015 with the now infamous shorts. On Saturday, he will take on a bigger opponent than Gea in the third round - the world number nine Taylor Fritz.
Wawrinka is the oldest player to reach the 3rd round since 1978, when the great Ken Rosewall did so at the Australian Open at the age of 44. And he will improve his ATP ranking to at least around number 110. The chances are good that he will soon reach his goal of the top 100 again and will no longer have to rely on a wild card in Paris and Wimbledon.
