MELBOURNE, Australia — Stan Wawrinka said goodbye after his loss to Taylor Fritz and then grabbed two beers from a courtside ice box, cracked the cans with the Australian Open tournament director and saluted the crowd.
«Cheers everybody!» Wawrinka said after Saturday’s 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 third-round loss to No. 9 Fritz. «And thank you so much.»
Wawrinka, 40, won the first of his three Grand Slam titles in Australia in 2014.
With a 4½-hour, five-set win over 21-year-old French qualifier Arthur Gea in the second round, Wawrinka became the first man 40 or older to reach the third round of a Grand Slam since Ken Rosewall at the 1978 Australian Open. His 49th five-set match at a major was also a record.
«I’m not sure it’s the best statistic to have,» Wawrinka said of 40-plus milestone, «but I will take it.»
Lorenzo Musetti, who held off Tomas Machac 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in a 4½-hour marathon earlier Saturday on John Cain Arena. That match was stopped for about 10 minutes in the fifth set to close the roof when the stadium’s extreme heat policy was invoked.
Fritz, the 2024 US Open runner-up, enjoyed the indoor conditions, firing 30 aces and just one double fault in four sets against Wawrinka.
«It’s a really, really tough match obviously, the environment as well,» Fritz said of Wawrinka’s Australian finale. «I can’t blame anyone in the crowd for cheering for Stan here. It’s amazing what he’s out here doing.
«I have so much respect for the passion and the drive that it takes to be doing what he’s doing this week.»
