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Stan Wawrinka celebrates after defeating Arthur Gea in their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne. (AP Photo)
With his 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3) win over Arthur Gea in the second round of the Australian Open, 2014 Australian champion Stan Wawrinka played in the 58th five-set match in his career. Wawrinka’s record is the most of any player in the Open Era and his win on Thursday at the KIA Arena also meant that he became the first man 40 or older to reach the third round a grand slam since 1978, when Ken Roswell achieved the feat at the age of 44. Wawrinka had announced earlier that this would be his last year of playing as a professional player and as the former world number three completed the win, the 40-year-old old shared how he deserved this win and how he is trying to last as long as possible in the tournament.
“I’ll pick up a beer. I deserve one! Exhausted! It’s my last Australian Open, so I’m trying to last as long as possible. Not only I had fun, but you gave me so much energy. I’m not young any more so I need the extra.” Wawrinka told the crowd during an on-court interview post his win.
Thursday’s win was Wawrinka’s 31st win in a five-set match in his career. The match went on for four hour and 33 minutes and is currently the longest match in this year’s Australian Open. The last set went into a tie-break with the Swiss winning it 7-3 to advance to the next round, where he will face world number nine Taylor Fritz, the 2024 US Open runner-up. When asked where he would rate Thursday’ win, Wawrinka spoke about how he is trying to stay in the present and how is pushing the limits. Never compare the past. That’s really never a good idea. For me, I’m always trying to stay in the present, living with what’s happening in the present. Of course, after a tough year like last year, knowing it’s my last one here, my last Australian Open, my last year, it’s really special. The emotions are really completely different. It’s a feeling that’s tough to describe. But it’s the reason why at 40 I’m still pushing myself, pushing the limit, practising hard in the off-season, it’s to live those moments.” Wawrinka said.
Fritz, who scored a 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4) win over Vit Kopriva to enter the third round and set up a clash against the Swiss, also spoke about how he has looked up to Wawrinka for a long time and how he has been impressed by his physical fitness at this age. “I’m excited for it. I think it will be a fun match. I’ve looked up to Stan for a long time. I know he’s playing well. I practised with him in Perth at the United Cup. His average time on court per match this year has to be something insane because even at the United Cup he was battling long three-setters every match. It’s so impressive the level and just the physicality he’s still bringing.” Fritz said on Thursday.
Wawrinka had announced earlier that this year will be his last year on the professional circuit. The former world number three has won three grand slam titles in his career so far and each one of these grand slam titles came with wins over the then ATP number one in the finals. Wawrinka had won his maiden grand slam title with a win over Rafael Nadal in the 2014 Australian Open followed by his titles in the 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open with wins over Novak Djokovic. In an interview with The Guardian earlier, Wawrinka had spoken about his thoughts on retirement. “At the end, I really believe that I squeezed the lemon until the last drop,” he says. “And that, for me, is the most important, because that’s the only way I can leave this sport without any regrets. There’s always some small regrets: ‘In that match, oh, I should have done better,’ or whatever. But in general, I don’t have regrets, because I know that I did the most of it.” Wawrinka had told The Guardian earlier.
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