Stan Wawrinka is making his final Australian Open a historic one.
The 40-year-old from Switzerland, who won his first Grand Slam title in Melbourne in 2014 and plans to retire after this season, became the oldest man to reach the third round of the tournament since 1978 with his 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3) defeat of French qualifier Arthur Gea on Thursday.
The match lasted four hours, 33 minutes.
“Exhausted,” Wawrinka said afterward in an on-court interview. “It’s my last Australian Open, so I’m trying to last as long as possible. I’m not young anymore, so I need your (crowd) energy. It’s an amazing feeling to be on this court and have so much amazing support.”
With the victory, Wawrinka moved to 31-27 in five-set matches. No player in the Open Era has taken part in more. It was the first five-setter for Gea, 21.
Wawrinka’s ride will continue in the third round against No. 9 Taylor Fritz, who got past Czech Vit Kopriva in straight sets.
Also moving on with ease in the night session was No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner of Italy, the two-time defending champion who aims to join Novak Djokovic as the only man to win three straight times in Melbourne. He ousted home favorite James Duckworth 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to move to 9-0 against Australian opponents in major tournaments.
Other winners in late play were Norway’s Casper Ruud, who defeated Jaume Munar of Spain in straight sets; Croatian Marin Cilic, a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 winner over No. 21 Denis Shapovalov of Canada; and Czech Tomas Machac, who topped No. 31 Stefanos Tsitsipas in four sets, despite 24 aces from the Greek.
Earlier in the day, all seven seeded players advanced in the afternoon session, including 10-time tournament champion Djokovic.
The fourth-seeded Serbian eased past Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrelli 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in second-round action. Djokovic had a 10-5 edge in aces and saved four of the five break points he faced.
In the afternoon’s most intriguing match, fifth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti ousted Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in a battle of top-40 Italian players and occasional doubles partners.
“It was not an easy match against one of my best friends on tour,” Musetti said. “On court everyone wants to win. That’s not a secret. But it’s never easy to prepare for the match, to stay focused with the right attitude.”
The top-ranked American, eighth-seeded Ben Shelton cruised past qualifier Dane Sweeny of Australia 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
Shelton blistered 19 aces and endured only two double faults in a match that lasted 1 hour, 44 minutes. He did not face a break point and produced a winner-unforced error ratio of better than 2:1 (38-17).
In other action, No. 15 Karen Khachanov of Russia defeated U.S. qualifier Nishesh Basavareddy 6-1, 6-4, 6-3; No. 15 Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic dismissed Spanish qualifier Rafael Jodar 6-2, 6-4, 6-4; No. 22 Italian Luciano Darderi got past Argentine Sebastian Baez, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3; and upstart No. 30 Valentin Vacherot of Monaco beat wild card Rinky Hijikata of Australia 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
Vacherot will meet Shelton in the third round. Three months ago, Vacherot stunned the world of tennis when he beat five ranked players, including Djokovic in the semifinals, to win the ATP 1000 event in Shanghai. He was ranked No. 204 at the time.
Former NCAA champion Ethan Quinn defeated Poland’s Hubert Hurcacz, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-1 and will face Mensik in the third round. Also advancing were American Eliot Spizzirri and Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.
–Field Level Media
