Stan Wawrinka comes through four-and-a-half-hour battle to reach third round of his last Australian Open

Stan Wawrinka is not giving in on his last dance at the 2026 Australian Open.

The Swiss Beijing 2008 Olympic gold medallist, who is playing his final season of professional tennis, is into the third round after a gutsy 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) victory against Arthur Géa.

Wawrinka, the 2014 Australian Open champion, has reached round three for the first time since 2020, when he made it to his most recent Grand Slam quarter-final.

“Exhausted,” he answered on court about his initial emotions after prevailing in four hours, 33 minutes. “As I told you, it’s my last Australian Open, so I’m trying to last as long as possible every match.

“Not only did I have fun, but you [the fans] gave me so much energy. I’m not so young anymore, so I need extra energy from you… I don’t know how I’m going to recover but I’m super happy.”

Wawrinka, 40, will meet another Olympic medallist in ninth seed Taylor Fritz in the third round. The U.S. star beat Vít Kopřiva 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4) to set up a first clash with the Swiss since Monte-Carlo 2023.

It was a vintage display by Wawrinka, who hit 63 winners and saved a mammoth 10 break points from his French opponent, the qualifier ranked 198th in the world.

Going into a super 10-point tiebreak in the deciding set, Wawrinka sealed five mini breaks and won eight of the last nine points to secure a special victory at the Kia Arena. At 40 years and 300 days old, he becomes the oldest man to reach the third round of an Open Era Grand Slam since 1978.

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