Stan Wawrinka has joined only a handful of players in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam match after their 40th birthday at the Australian Open.
The 2014 champion, who is playing at Melbourne Park for the last time before retiring, battled his way to a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) win over Laslo Djere in front of an animated crowd of around 5000 people at the Kia Arena. It was far from an easy task for Wawrinka, who only managed to convert three out of his 18 break point chances and had to come back from 2-4 down in the fourth set.
Wawrinka joins Jimmy Connors and Ivo Karlovic as the only players aged 40 or above to win a main draw match at a major since Ken Rosewall reached the Australian Open third round in 1978.
“He’s one of the greats of the sport. Obviously, his level dropped from where it was 10 years ago. But, I mean, that’s expected and that’s normal.” Djere said of Wawrinka.
“He’s still able to play on a high level. His tennis is still good.”
While he is playing in his farewell year, Wawrinka is still hungry for success on the Tour with a goal of returning to the top 100 before he retires. Even at his age, the former world No.3 still admits he gets nervous when taking to the court.
“I’m always nervous. That’s always been positive for me. That means I really care and I really want to do well. I’m really pushing myself.” Wawrinka explained during his press conference.
“That’s when you need to be really disciplined with yourself, with your brain, with what you have to do during the match. I think those matches, also a bit longer in five sets, always help me to relax, to be a bit more focused, to move a bit better. That was the case today. I think I started playing better in the second, third and fourth sets.”
Whilst there is a lot of attention on his age, Wawrinka takes it all in his stride. According to the ATP rankings, he is the oldest player currently in the top 500. He made his ATP debut at the 2003 Gstaad Open and has won 16 titles since then, including three Grand Slams.
“I don’t try to feel the same as 10 years or more ago. I have always been honest with myself, knowing where I am, what’s my ability, what I can do, what I can still achieve, the way I can still play. I try to use that on court every match.” He said.
“I know I’m not as good as I was before. I know I’m not as physical and tennis-wise as I was before. That’s normal. I’m getting old. But I’m still happy with what I’m doing, always trying to push my own limits, always trying to be better.”
Wawrinka will next play French qualifier Arthur Gea, who stunned 17th seed Jiri Lehecka 7-5, 7-6(1), 7-5.
