MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — He's 40. He just made Grand Slam history by beating a 21-year-old qualifier in a fifth-set tiebreaker to reach the third round of the Australian Open.
And if Stan Wawrinka felt like he deserved a beer after the longest match at the season's first major, nobody was going to argue.
Wawrinka had to dig deep Thursday to edge Arthur Gea in a 4-hour, 33-minute epic to become the first man 40 or older to reach the third round of a Grand Slam since the 1978 Australian Open.
The 2014 champion held it together while Gea struggled with cramps in the fifth set's 10-point tiebreaker, hanging on for 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3).
“I’ll pick up a beer,” he told the crowd in an on-court TV interview. “I deserve one!”
Ken Rosewall was the last man to go so far at a major in his 40s — he was 44 and that was 48 years ago.
Wawrinka announced last month that this year would be his last on the elite tour. Asked how he felt after two rounds, he got straight to the point: “Exhausted!”
“It’s my last Australian Open, so I’m trying to last as long as possible,” he told the crowd. “Not only I had fun but you gave me so much energy. I’m not young any more so I need the extra.”
Stan the man
Apart from clusters of vocal French fans, the crowd on KIA Arena was almost entirely behind the Swiss veteran, including a woman holding up a sign that featured a silhouette image of Wawrinka and the words “Stan the Man.”
He's earned the reputation, having played more five-set Grand Slam matches than anyone in the Open era: He's now 26-23.
Gea went to five sets for the first time and will no doubt take some lessons from the schooling.
“It was an incredible experience,” he said. “I will take time to analyze everything. But, yeah, it was cool.”
Both players could have ended it earlier. Wawrinka went up a break early in the fifth but couldn't hold it. After five sets, each player converted only four of their breakpoint chances.
By the time the tiebreaker came around, Wawrinka was confident he had the fitness to outlast the Frenchman who was 19 years his junior.
Recommended for you
Cramps
Gea’s right leg started cramping after he got to 1-1. After the next point the Frenchman had to squat on his legs.
He was cramping again when he served a double fault to give Wawrinka a 4-2 lead.
When Wawrinka netted to make it 5-3, the match officially became the longest of the tournament. The Swiss veteran lifted.
He finished a 21-shot rally with a touch volley that Gea scrambled for but couldn't reach and tumbled to the court.
A pinpoint lob made it 7-3, another double fault from Gea made it 8-3, and Wawrinka set up six match points with a forehand winner.
“I have good confidence in my fitness level that I can handle those long matches. For me, that’s not a problem to really keep it up with the level,” he said. “Today was again a big battle.”
On to Fritz
The three-time major winner will next play No. 9 Taylor Fritz, the 2024 U.S. Open runner-up, who beat Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Fritz said Wawrinka was one of the great competitors and he was excited to take him on.
“Looked up to Stan for a long time. I know he’s playing well,” Fritz said. “It’s so impressive the level and just the physicality he’s still bringing.”
The 28-year-old American said Wawrinka's age-defying form was impressive.
“I can barely imagine playing in, like, four years from now!”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.