Stan Wawrinka, who is playing in his final year as a professional player, rolled back the years as he battled into the second round of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday evening.
The 40-year-old Swiss star, who made his debut in 2006 and who won the men’s singles in 2014, battled into the second round by fighting back to beat Serbia’s Laslo Djere 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4).
Wawrinka announced recently this will be his last year as a touring pro and was thrilled to give himself one more chance to play in front of his fans Down Under. “I won because of you guys,” an emotional Wawrinka told a packed KIA Arena afterwards. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. The only reason I come back is because of the love you give me.”
Those fans will be out in force when Stan the Man is back to face one of Monday’s giantkillers, young Frenchman Arthur Gea.
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The 21-year-old World No.198 defeated 17th seed and 2025 US Open quarterfinalist Jiri Lehecka 7-5, 7-6(1), 7-5 to produce one of the shocks on the second day of play.
The men’s draw saw early exits for 24th seed Arthur Rinderknech and 27th seed Brandon Nakashima.
And one of the form players from late last season, Canadian seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime was forced to retire early in the fourth set against Portuguese No.1 Nuno Borges because of a leg injury.
Just two seeded players departed the women’s draw – world No.15 Emma Navarro, who lost in three sets to former semifinalist Magda Linette of Poland, and 2020 champion Sofia Kenin, who lost to fellow American Peyton Stearns.
Elsewhere,13th seed Linda Noskova took 58 minutes to dismantle Darja Semenistaja 6-3, 6-0, 14th seed Clara Tauson swept past Dalma Galfi 6-3, 6-3 and Karolina Muchova, the popular 19th seed, outlasted Jacqueline Cristian 6-3 7-6(6).
Swiatek scrambles past Chinese qualifier
The women’s top seeds all advanced in straight sets, although six-time major champion Iga Swiatek had to recover from 3-5 in the first set before scrambling past China’s qualifier Yuan Yue 7-6(5), 6-3.
Third seed Coco Gauff crushed Kamilla Rakhimova 6-2, 6-3, last year’s Wimbledon and US Open finalist Amanda Anisimova defeated Swiss Simona Walter 6-3, 6-2 and No.6 seed Jessica Pegula dropped only three games against Anastasia Zakharova in a strong day for the top-ranked American women.
Recent Adelaide champ Mirra Andreeva had to fight back to get the better of Croatia’s Donna Vekic 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 and set up a second-round meeting with Greek Maria Sakkari. On the other hand, young Canadian Victoria Mboko impressed on her Melbourne Park debut to beat Australian Emerson Jones 6-4, 6-1.
It was a good day too for the biggest names in the men’s draw, with 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic looking sharp to beat Spain’s Pedro Martinez 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 for his 100th win at the Australian major.
It is also a mind-boggling 398th Grand Slam match victory for the Serb, who is searching for a 25th major singles title this fortnight. “It’s a nice feeling to be a centurion,” the 38-year-old joked afterwards.
Home hope Alex de Minaur, the No.6 seed this year, will be desperate to go beyond the last eight at one of the four Grand Slams for the first time in his career, and he looked solid as he defeated lucky loser Mackenzie McDonald early in the day 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.
Spain’s Jaume Munar saved match point at 2-5 in the fourth set before winning in five against Czech Republic’s Dalibor Svrcina.
Three-time Australian Open runner-up and 2026 Brisbane champion Daniil Medvedev began his campaign with a straight-sets win over Dutchman Jesper de Jong. Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and former semifinalist Tommy Paul too had comfortable victories in their first-round games.
