Stan Wawrinka had to dig deep to beat Arthur Gea in a 4½-hour, five-set epic to become the first man 40 or older to reach the third round of a Grand Slam since the 1978 Australian Open.
Fittingly, it was the longest match at the 2026 Australian Open, Wawrinka’s last at Melbourne Park.
The 2014 champion and a three-time major winner, Wawrinka held it together while 21-year-old qualifier Gea struggled with cramps in the fifth set’s 10-point tiebreaker, hanging on for a 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3) win Thursday.
At 40 years, 310 days, Wawrinka was the first 40-plus man to go this far at a major since Australian great Ken Rosewall did it 48 years ago at the age of 44.
The Swiss veteran announced last month that this year would be his last on the elite tour.
It was the 49th time Wawrinka has contested a five-set match at a Grand Slam, more than any other player. He holds a 26-23 record in such matches. Asked in an on-court interview how he felt after 4 hours, 33 minutes on court, Wawrinka said, “Exhausted!”
“As I told you, it’s my last Australian Open, so I’m trying to last as long as possible,” he said, telling a crowd that was almost entirely behind the Swiss veteran. “Not only I had fun, but you gave me so much energy. I’m not young anymore, so I need the extra.”
Asked how he might recover before a third-round meeting with No. 9 Taylor Fritz, Wawrinka recalled a spectator dropping a beer earlier in the match and thought he’d raise a glass.
“I’ll pick up a beer,” he said. “I deserve one!”
Gea went to five sets for the first time and will no doubt take some lessons from the schooling.
“It was an incredible experience,” he said. “I will take time to analyze everything. But yeah, it was cool.”
Both players could have ended it earlier. Wawrinka went up a break early in the fifth but couldn’t hold it. After five sets, each player converted only four of their break-point chances.
By the time the tiebreaker came around, Wawrinka was confident he had the fitness to outlast the Frenchman who is 19 years his junior.
Gea’s right leg started cramping after he got to 1-1. After the next point, the Frenchman had to squat on his legs, and he was cramping again when he served a double fault to give Wawrinka a 4-2 lead.
When Wawrinka netted to make it 5-3, the match officially became the longest of the tournament.
Wawrinka rose to the moment. He finished a 21-shot rally with a touch volley that Gea scrambled for but couldn’t reach and tumbled to the court.
A pinpoint lob made it 7-3, another double fault from Gea made it 8-3, and Wawrinka set up six match points with a forehand winner.
“I have good confidence in my fitness level that I can handle those long matches,” Wawrinka said. “For me, that’s not a problem to really keep it up with the level. Today was again a big battle.”
Fritz, who beat Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4), said Wawrinka was one of the great competitors and that he was excited to take him on.
“Looked up to Stan for a long time. I know he’s playing well,” Fritz said. “It’s so impressive the level and just the physicality he’s still bringing.”
Fritz, 28, said Wawrinka’s age-defying form was impressive.
“I can barely imagine playing in, like, four years from now!” Fritz remarked.
The Associated Press and PA contributed to this report.
