Swiss Stan Wawrinka went back in time to present a strong performance in his victory over Argentine Thomas Echeverri, to book a seat in the third round of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, on Thursday.
The 38-year-old’s career may have been nearing its end, but he outlasted a player a decade and a half younger than him 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-2 in sunny conditions on Court 3.
This is the first time that Wawrinka has reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament in 3 years, and he will face defending champion Novak Djokovic, who the Swiss beat in the 2015 French Open final.
Wawrinka, ranked 88 in the world and who suffered from problems in his knees that did not prevent him from completing his career, had been eliminated in the first or second round in the last 6 participations in the four major tournaments.
“It’s been a long time since I didn’t win many grand slams,” the player, who won the 2014 Australian Open, the French Open the following year and the 2016 US Open, said in a courtside interview after overcoming the 29th seed at the tournament. I am happy with my performance.”
And Wimbledon is not the favorite tournament for the Swiss player, who reached the quarter-finals on only two occasions, and qualified for the third round at the All England Club for the first time since 2015.
Tough confrontation
Djokovic, seeking to win the tournament for the fifth time in a row and the eighth time in total to equal the record set by Roger Federer, surpasses the head-to-head record against Wawrinka with 20 victories against 6 defeats, but they did not face each other on grass courts.
“I’d enjoy the fight if he didn’t crush me,” Wawrinka said about facing Djokovic, who has only lost twice at Wimbledon since 2013 and had to withdraw due to injury. And I’ll be competitive. I’ll do my best and we’ll see what happens.”
For Wawrinka to stand a chance of preventing Djokovic from winning his 24th Grand Slam title at the All England Club, he will need his arsenal of strikes, especially his signature backhand.
That strike played a major role in taming Djokovic in the 2015 French Open final and the 2016 US Open final, when he delivered a strong performance in 3 sets.
His backhand and forehand were good on Thursday, but experience was the deciding factor as he manipulated his opponent around the court.
Wawrinka’s level fell briefly in the second set, but after breaking serve at 3-3 in the third, he took control of the match.
2023-07-06 19:34:34
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