Stan Wawrinka doesn’t wake up from his Australian dream

After a very tough marathon, Stan Wawrinka managed to push himself even further in the 32nd final of the Australian Slam. On the concrete of Melbourne Park, the winner of the tournament in 2014, the year he beat Rafael Nadal in the final (6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 the score of the four sets), gave all his energy to gain one last, symbolic qualification to the third round of the Australian Open, before his announced retirement at the end of the season. In his last year on the circuit, the 40-year-old Swiss wants to say goodbye to tennis in the best possible way, leaving a strong memory with fans. And he confirmed it again today, thrilling the audience, won over by world number 139.

Aldo Seghedoni

Age, however, does not seem to have extinguished his competitiveness. Wawrinka proved he can still have his say in major tournaments, overcoming an opponent 20 years younger. After five sets and more than four-and-a-half hours of play (4h34′), Stan got the better of Frenchman Arthur Gea, number 198 in the rankings, prevailing with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) at the end of a tight battle fought on every point. The fifth set, with a break on each side, was decided at the tie-break, dominated by the Lausannean 10-3.

Having overcome this enormous fatigue, Wawrinka now prepares for a challenge of the highest level: in the next round awaits him a top 10 ranking, the American Taylor Fritz, who was also followed in Australia by his fiancée Morgan Riddle.

“It’s because we know it’s the last time ever we play the Australian Open and we feel how special it is, every day. Honestly, at one point I thought he was going to walk out of the tournament and suddenly there he is winning. I’m actually deeply happy for him, after all the work he’s put in to come back, all the great efforts he’s put in to regain his form, to put himself in a position to go into a tournament at this level with the goal of winning matches. Yes, the start was slow, you had to manage the wind, it was not easy. But then it actually held. And it is true that during the phase between the two seasons we simply did a very good job” told coach Magnus Norman.

“What can I say? He is so involved in his tennis, so dedicated even to everything that needs to be put up around it. Stan really wants to play at the level he feels he can still achieve, after cashing in last year with narrow defeats that were not good for him. That is also why I am impressed with the victory he just went for, at the end of such a hard-fought battle” added the Swede.