The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Wawrinka comes through marathon
Stan Wawrinka put himself in the reckoning for a fourth grand slam title with an extraordinary victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas at Roland Garros yesterday.
The pair battled for five hours and nine minutes on Court Suzanne Lenglen before Wawrinka eventually triumphed 7-6 (8-6) 5-7 6-4 3-6 8-6 to set up a quarter-final clash with his countryman Roger Federer.
The 2015 champion was twice a set up against the young Greek, but Tsitsipas showed again what a superb competitor he is to fight back, and it was the 20-year-old who looked like he would move ahead in the deciding set.
But Wawrinka dug in to save eight break points – he saved 22 of 27 in the match – and then took his second match point when the umpire confirmed a backhand had caught the edge of the line.
The 34-year-old has battled back from knee surgery nearly two years ago and only recently has begun to show his best form again.
He said: “Playing in front of such a crowd, such a big atmosphere, five-set match in a grand slam, that’s the reason why I came back from the surgery. Because I love and enjoy to play in front of people, to play in the biggest tournaments you can play. Today was something really special.”
The emotions were very different for a devastated Tsitsipas, who said: “I feel exhausted. I’ve never experienced something like this in my life. I felt very disappointed at the end. It’s a long time since I cried after a match, so emotionally it wasn’t easy to handle. I will try to learn from it as much as I can.”
The true winner of the match may well turn out to be Federer, who coasted to a 6-2 6-3 6-3 victory over Leonardo Mayer and is yet to drop a set.
His last match at Roland Garros prior to this year’s claycourt comeback was in the quarter-finals in 2015, when he was beaten by Wawrinka in straight sets.
“I have some bad memories against Stan in 2015,” said Federer. “He beat me in three sets with his terrible shorts.”
Defending champion Rafael Nadal, who celebrates his 33rd birthday today, followed Federer on to Philippe Chatrier and matched his rival by beating Juan Ignacio Londero 6-2 6-3 6-3.
Kei Nishikori and Benoit Paire will return to finish their match today with the Japanese star leading 6-2 6-7 (8-10) 6-2.