Stan Wawrinka produced a marvellous performance on Monday to advance at the Australian Open.
The Swiss tennis legend, who is retiring from his playing career this year, defeated Laslo Djere 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 at the Show Court Arena in Melbourne.
The three-time Grand Slam champion had the support of the crowd, who cheered for the Swiss star from start to finish.
Wawrinka – a wildcard entry – will hope to receive similar support in round two, when he faces French youngster Arthur Gea, who shocked 17th seed Jiri Lehecka on Monday.
What is your best memory of Stan Wawrinka?
Lindsay Davenport says the popularity of Stan Wawrinka’s first Australian Open match was similar to Alexandra Eala’s
After securing victory on Monday, Jim Courier heaped praise on the 2014 Australian Open champion and Tennis Australia.
As broadcast by the Tennis Channel, Courier said: The guy’s [Wawrinka] got iron lungs, he’s built like a tank.
“We know this and he’s built for endurance, not necessarily speed, but he’s getting it done and it’s just fun to see.
“And you know props to Tennis Australia for giving him the chance with the wildcard and he and Venus both, they’ve been additive to this tournament even though Venus [Williams] lost.”
Lindsay Davenport, the 1999 Wimbledon champion, reflected on Wawrinka’s career, noting how he disrupted the dominance of the ‘big three.’
“It was impossible for anyone to break through in that 20 year span with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic,” Davenport began.
“Stan was able to do it, get three majors. So that just goes to show, we know he was working hard, we know he was putting everything into it. Great to see him make another run here and be able to win matches.”
Davenport went on to discuss the popularity of Wawrinka’s contest had at the Show Court Arena, comparing his level of support to that of Alexandra Eala’s [pictured below].
She said: “We’ve talked about the crowds, record numbers coming through: a man like that deserves to play in front of a packed stadium, he had that.
“Similar to Eala, no one could get near that stadium. It was a tremendous atmosphere as well for Stan.
Davenport, along with Martina Navratilova, also recently suggested that the Australian Open made a mistake in regards to Eala’s opening match in Melbourne.
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Arthur Gea, the world number 198, is a French professional player who hails from Carpentras, France.
Gea, 21, is a winner of nine ITF titles and one ATP Challenger title. He made his ATP Tour debut last year at the Marseille Open, losing to Hugo Grenier in the first round.
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Gea made his Grand Slam main draw debut earlier this week after winning three rounds of qualifying.
As mentioned already, Gea stunned Jiri Lehecka in straight sets to win his first-ever Grand Slam match at the main draw level. Gea won the match 7-5, 7-6, 7-5.
