Stan Wawrinka produced a scintillating display to defeat Arthur Gea in the Australian Open second round.
On Thursday, Wawrinka rolled back the years, defeating the young Frenchman 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 in front of a raucous crowd at the Show Court Arena.
Wawrinka, who entered the tournament via a wildcard, became the first player aged over 40 to reach the Australian Open third round in almost 50 years.
The 2014 Australian Open champion has become a master at winning five-set contests. His victory against Gea marked his 49th five-set contest – the most of any player in the Open Era.
After defeating Gea, Wawrinka discussed his five-set record, noting the reasons for his success when playing on the biggest stages.
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Stan Wawrinka explains why he is ‘so good’ at five-set matches
During Wawrinka’s post-match press conference, one reporter asked the Swiss legend: “Your winning percentage in best-of-five is better than best-of-three. What do you think it is about best-of-five that you’re so good at? Seem to be a specialist at times.”
Wawrinka replied: “No, Grand Slam always been in general better for me. Like, I feel that I have more time to put my game, to find solution. Also I have good confidence in my fitness level that I can handle those long matches. For me, that’s not a problem to really keep it up with the level.
“So today was again a big battle, of course. I was not feeling great. Probably start to cramp at the end. For me, yeah, I was pushing myself, pushing myself through.
“Of course, you need to feel good physically but also mentally you need to stay positive, need to find solution.
“Like I said, for me playing here, playing with this amazing atmosphere, support, it really give me a lot of energy on the court to keep staying positive, to keep fighting, to keep pushing myself. I’m super happy with the result.”
Wawrinka was then asked if he figured out the five-set ‘formula’ at a certain stage in his career.
“Not really. But like I said, I feel like a Grand Slam five-set match, from the beginning I can be, all my career I can be a bit less nervous,” Wawrinka told reporters in Melbourne.
“You have no time to fail. You have no time to find solution. This is something that has mentally always helped me, to try to play my best tennis.”
Wawrinka, ranked 139 in the world, will play ninth seed Taylor Fritz in the Australian Open third round. Wawrinka has a winning record against Fritz, last defeating the American at the 2018 Japan Open.
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Despite being a senior figure on the ATP Tour, Stan Wawrinka still has the tools to trouble Taylor Fritz.
In his first two rounds, Wawrinka proved that his final appearance at the Australian Open is far from a farewell tour, but rather a statement of intent for the rest of the season.
If the Swiss legend were to defeat Taylor Fritz, he would face Lorenzo Musetti or Tomas Machac in the Australian Open fourth round.
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Wawrinka has failed to defeat Musetti in either of his two previous matches against the Italian star. However, Wawrinka would be able to take great confidence heading into any potential contest against Musetti, as he almost defeated the Italian at the 2025 Athens Open: 4-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Against Machac, Wawrinka has failed to defeat the Czech star in two previous attempts.
Machac, the world number 24, has been in terrific form, having won the Adelaide International earlier this month.
On Wednesday, the Czech player advanced to the Australian Open third round after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas – a former Australian Open finalist.
