Stan Wawrinka Bids Adieu To Australian Open As Taylor Fritz Shows Former Champion Exit Door In Swansong

Last Updated:January 24, 2026, 15:36 IST

Wawrinka, who made his debut at Melbourne Park in 2006 and won the major in 2014, went down to Taylor Fritz in a 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win for the American.

Three-time Grand Slam winner Stanislas Wawrinka (X)

Stan Wawrinka bid a heroic final farewell to the Australian Open on Saturday, bowing out in the third round after a hard-fought loss to Taylor Fritz.

Fritz, the ninth seed from the United States, defeated the Swiss wildcard and former champion 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Wawrinka, who made his debut at Melbourne Park in 2006 and won the major in 2014, is playing his final season before retiring.

Fritz will face the fifth seed, Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, in the last 16.

The first set between Wawrinka and Fritz was tightly contested, leading to a tiebreak where they traded powerful forehands.

With the roof closed at John Cain Arena due to the heat, the 28-year-old Fritz narrowly won the first-set tiebreak. With strong crowd support, Wawrinka started fast in the second set, taking a 3-0 lead.

On Thursday, he became the first player aged 40 or over to reach the men’s third round at a Grand Slam since Ken Rosewall at the Australian Open in 1978.

Exhausted afterwards, he joked about possibly having a beer to celebrate. However, Fritz’s hopes for a Wawrinka hangover were dashed.

The three-time Grand Slam champion saved two break points to go up 5-2 and then broke Fritz to secure the second set in 33 minutes.

Fritz fought back, breaking in the seventh game of the third set with a powerful smash before he took control, moving to within one set of victory.

Wawrinka took a medical timeout after the third set as the rigours of his Melbourne campaign caught up with him.

Visibly tiring, he was unable to stop Fritz from securing his place in the second week.

Wawrinka, currently ranked 139, peaked at world number three in 2014, winning the French Open the following year and the US Open in 2016.

These triumphs came during a period when Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic were dominating men’s tennis.

Wawrinka has 16 career ATP titles, with the last one coming in Geneva in 2017. He also won Olympic gold in doubles with Federer at Beijing in 2008.

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