Wawrinka Defeats Géa: 5-Set Thriller | [Year] Update

Brilliant: “Stan the Man” with his famous cheering gesture.Bild: keystone

After 4:33 hours, Stan Wawrinka is in the 3rd round of the Australian Open in Melbourne. The soon-to-be 41-year-old from Vaud beat the French qualifier Arthur Géa in five sets.

22.01.2026, 10:4022.01.2026, 13:11

In Melbourne, Stan Wawrinka (ATP 139) once again delivered a real example of what had distinguished him throughout his career. After a good four and a half hours, he had the upper hand in the final match tiebreak against Grand Slam debutant Arthur Gea (ATP 198), who is 19 years his junior.

The match point and the cheers.Video: SRF

In the end, Wawrinka even made the fresher impression than the southern Frenchman. For the first time, he played more than three sets in a game, the Swiss played his 58th (!) five-set game, and he won 31 of them.

Already in the fourth set the game was on a knife’s edge. Wawrinka gave back a 3-0 lead, but then survived a difficult phase and finally got the break and equalized the set thanks to a brilliant backhand pass. Several times he shone with his parade shot as in his best times. “Unfortunately, she’s not quite as good as she once was,” he lamented in the Platz interview afterwards.

What a set ball! Wawrinka forces the 5th set.Video: SRF

Wawrinka also led 2-0 in the deciding set, but had to let Gea get close again. In the tiebreak, the 21-year-old Frenchman struggled with cramps, while the three-time Grand Slam champion kept his nerve. He is now the oldest player to reach the third round of a major tournament since Ken Rosewall did so at the 1978 Australian Open as a 44-year-old.

Wawrinka continues in the third round on Saturday against world number 9 Taylor Fritz (USA). The Swiss said he was exhausted. He doesn’t yet know how he’ll recover, “but maybe I’ll grab a beer first.” As he did after his opening win, he thanked the audience for giving him a lot of energy. “I’m not the youngest anymore, I need this extra power.”

Two great points in the tiebreak of the 5th set.Video: SRF

“Stan doesn’t play for the prize money, but to experience something again with the fans.”

Boris BeckerEurosport

In the first set, the three-time Grand Slam champion quickly fell behind 1:3 after a nervous start and was no longer able to make up for this handicap, also because he failed to take advantage of three break chances. In the second round he turned the tide by taking serve from the young Frenchman for the first time to make it 3-1. The third set was also decided by a single break, which came out of the blue against Wawrinka to make it 3:5.

The statistics for the game:

Wawrinka Géa Stats Australian Open

However, Arthur Gea’s strong performance was not entirely surprising. He had won a Challenger tournament in New Caledonia in preparation and survived the qualification and the first round against world number 19 Jiri Lehecka without losing a set.

Djokovic before his 400th Grand Slam victory

Bild: keystone

Novak Djokovic’s second round victory against Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrelli (ATP 141) was one without much history, but it brings the 38-year-old Serb very close to another historic mark. On Saturday in the third round he can become the first player – man or woman – with 400 wins in Grand Slam tournaments with a win against the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp (ATP 75).

Roger Federer retired from majors after winning 369 matches. At the Australian Open, Djokovic is one behind Federer with 101 wins.

Sinner in the shoes

At the age of 38, Djokovic is no longer the top favorite to win the tournament – it would be his 25th Grand Slam title. Even after his second game, defending champion Jannik Sinner remains the same. The Italian made short work of the Australian James Duckworth (ATP 88) and won 6:1, 6:4, 6:2.

In his first two games, Sinner only played a total of ten games. Still four fewer than Djokovic, but he benefited in the starting round from Hugo Gaston’s abandonment at the beginning of the third set.

Swiatek with improvement

Iga Swiatek also improved on her somewhat mixed performance in the first round. The Pole, who could complete her career Grand Slam with her first win in Australia, won against Marie Bouzkova (WTA 44) 6:2, 6:3. (ram/sda)