(In Pictures) Stan Wawrinka Pays Tribute to Iconic Shorts of His 2015 Roland Garros Win in 2026 Australian Open Outfit
Stan Wawrinka overcame Arthur Gea in five sets to schedule a third-round clash with Taylor Fritz in Melbourne.
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Stan Wawrinka (Image via X/Roland Garros)
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Stan Wawrinka scripted history when he registered a win over Laslo Djere in the first round of the ongoing Australian Open. The 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) victory made the Swiss the second-oldest man to win a match in the tournament.
The record for the oldest man to win a match at Melbourne Park belongs to Ivo Karlovic, the Croatian former ace who, back in 2020, won at 40 years and 326 days. Wawrinka achieved this at 40 years and 296 days.
Wawrinka is playing in his farewell tour. One thing that the tennis world noticed about Wawrinka was his Yonex kit. Just below the collar of his blue-and-white T-shirt is a print of patterned strips that pays tribute to his 2015 Roland Garros win.
Wawrinka clinched his career’s second Grand Slam title with a four-set win over 24-time Major champion Novak Djokovic at the French Open. At that time, he wore those iconic red, white, and grey shorts. Those shorts, as well as the match shirt, were given to Wawrinka’s former coach, Magnus Norman.
Wawrinka is a former champion at the Australian Open. It was here back in 2014 that he defeated 22-time Major champion Rafael Nadal to win his career’s first Grand Slam title. Since then, he has made two semifinals, in 2015 and 2017.
The last time he made a deep run in Melbourne was in 2020 when he made the quarterfinals. In the previous three seasons, he suffered first-round exits.
Stan Wawrinka jokes he deserves a beer after winning a five-set battle in the Australian Open second round
Stan Wawrinka has done it once again. In spite of his age, Stanimal wowed the tennis world with his 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) win in a gruelling second-round match against Frenchman Arthur Gea, who is nearly half his age. The match, which lasted for four hours and 33 minutes, saw him clinch a Grand Slam match win for the first time since the 2024 Wimbledon.
Mats Wilander, during the on-court interview, questioned him about the huge crowd support and how he was feeling. Wawrinka said:
Exhausted. As I told you, it’s my last Australian Open, so I’m trying to last as long as possible, also during the match… Not only I had fun, but also you gave me so much energy. You know I’m not young anymore, so I need your energy. I need extra, extra energy from you. It’s an amazing feeling to be on this, to have so much noise, so much support. It was a long match, and I don’t know how I’m going to recover, but I’m super happy.
Stan the Man knows that, though he produced perhaps his best performance in a match after a long time, he needs to recover well before his third-round match, which is expected to be nothing but a challenging one, given that it’s Taylor Fritz he will be facing next. And how would he recover? When Wilander asked him, Wawrinka joked he would be enjoying a beer.
No idea, but I think at the beginning you drop a beer (points toward the crowd). So maybe I’m going to pick up a beer. I deserve one.
Stan Wawrinka added
Well, Wawrinka admitted to having a drink or two the night before he upset Novak Djokovic at the 2015 French Open. The last time Wawrinka made the third round of a Grand Slam event was at the 2023 US Open.
His third-round opponent, Fritz, who is struggling with a knee niggle, defeated Vit Kopriva in the previous round. The American ace holds a 1-2 head-to-head record over the former World No.3.
Also read: (Video) Coco Gauff and Chris Eubanks Share Hilarious Off-Court Moment at the Australian Open
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