Stan Wawrinka has at least one more match left at the Australian Open in his illustrious career.
The 40-year-old Swiss, who is retiring at the end of this season, advanced to the second round at Melbourne Park on Monday by beating Laslo Djere 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) in three hours and 20 minutes.
“It has been a long journey,” said Wawrinka, who captured the title Down Under in 2014. “It has been amazing, so many memories here, it has been incredible. The only reason I come back is because of the love you give me, it was amazing today,” Wawrinka said in his on-court interview. “It is my last year. The passion is still intact. I am not young anymore, so I have to be careful.
“Today was amazing, so special to be on court and at a Grand Slam. It is the reason I train hard every day with my team, to be here competing with the best players in the world. I am so happy I won and have a chance to play one more match here. I am trying to enjoy but I am also a competitor, so I am always going to fight and hopefully I will play another good match.”
It will be a winnable match on Thursday, too, against qualifier Arthur Gea instead of 17th-seeded Jiri Lehecka. Gea upset Lehecka 7-5, 7-6(1), 7-5 on Monday. Felix Auger-Aliassime, the No. 7 seed, is also out. The Canadian retired against Nuno Borges while trailing two sets to one.
Australian Open Day 2 men’s singles results
Novak Djokovic d. Pedro Martinez 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
Casper Ruud d. Mattia Bellucci 6-1, 6-2, 6-4
Stan Wawrinka d. Laslo Djere 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4)
Botic van de Zandschulp d. Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(3)
Jerry Shang d. Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-0
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina d. Filip Misolic 6-2, 6-3, 6-3
Rinky Hijikata d. Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-3, 6-1
Reilly Opelka d. Nicolai Budkov Kjaer 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
Alexander Shevchenko d. Elias Ymer 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-1
Quentin Halys d. Alejandro Tabilo 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(2)
Alexandre Muller d. Alexei Popyrin 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(10-4)
Thiago Agustin Tirante d. Aleksandar Vukic 7-5, 6-2, 6-2
Tommy Paul d. Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 6-3, 6-3
Jordan Thompson d. Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-1, 6-1
Alex de Minaur d. Mackenzie McDonald 6-2, 6-2, 6-3
Andrey Rublev d. Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 6-2, 6-3
Daniil Medvedev d. Jesper de Jong 7-5, 6-2, 7-6(2)
Kamil Majchrzak d. Jake Fearnley 7-6(2), 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(3)
Denis Shapovalov d. Bu Yunchaokete 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-1
Learner Tien d. Marcos Giron 7-6(2), 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-2
Jaume Munar d. Dalibor Svrcina 3-6, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-3
Nuno Borges d. Felix Auger-Aliassime 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, ret.
Valentin Vacherot d. Martin Damm 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
Hamad Medjedovic d. Mariano Navone 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2
Francesco Maestrelli d. Terence Atmane 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-1
Arthur Gea d. Jiri Lehecka 7-5, 7-6(1), 7-5
Jordan Thompson d. Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-1, 6-1
Marin Cilic d. Daniel Altmaier 6-0, 6-0, 7-6(3)
Fabian Marozsan d. Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-4
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.