Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 10, 2021 Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka looks dejected after losing his second round match against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 10, 2021 Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka looks dejected after losing his second round match against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
He may have crashed out of the Australian Open, but veteran Swiss star Stan Wawrinka’s agonising five-set loss in the second round at Melbourne Park took him to fourth in the list of players with most five-setters in Grand Slams in the Open Era.
From being two sets down against rising Hungarian star Martin Fucsovics, the old warhorse in Wawrinka stirred into life as he staged a brilliant fightback to win the next two sets.
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Wawrinka is fourth on the Open Era list of players with most five-setters in Grand Slams
However, the Swiss couldn’t hold out a late resurgence from the Hungarian as he lost the tie-break in the deciding set to go down 5-7, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (9-11).
The defeat took the Swiss’ count of five-setters in Grand Slams to 44, more than former champion Andre Agassi who trails at the fifth with 41 matches that went the full distance.
📊 Tenistas con más partidos disputados de Grand Slam que alcanzaron el quinto set (Open Era):
47 🇨🇭 Roger Federer (30-17)
45 🇦🇺 Lleyton Hewitt (26-19)
45 🇪🇸 Fernando Verdasco (23-22)
44 🇨🇭 STAN WAWRINKA (24-20)
41 🇺🇸 Andre Agassi (24-17)📝 Retiradas incluídas pic.twitter.com/Ks9vvEVOtL
— MisterOnly.Tennis (@OnlyRogerCanFly) February 10, 2021
Wawrinka’s win-loss ratio in the five-setters that he has featured in stands at 24-20, while Agassi’s is 24-17.
Stan Wawrinka’s Swiss mate Roger Federer tops list with 47 five-setters
Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer tops the list with 47 five-setters in Grand Slams, while his win-loss count is at 30-17.
Former stars Lleyton Hewitt and Fernando Verdasco rank second and third in the list. Though they are tied at 45 five-setters in Grand Slams, the former Australian champion has more share of wins at 26-19 to Verdasco’s 23-22.
Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 10, 2021 Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka reacts during his second round match against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
Wawrinka had pulled out of the Murray River Classic, a tune-up ATP event in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open, after his win over Australian Alex Bolt.
After a title-less run on the men’s Tour and the pullout at the season-opener in Melbourne, the veteran Swiss wasn’t on top of his game going into the year’s first Grand Slam.
However, his straight-set win in the opening round against Pedro Sousa of Portugal seemed to indicate that he had found his bearings and will carry his form and momentum into the business-end at Melbourne Park.
However, his game fell away in the face of some aggressive tennis by Fucsovics in the second round.
Read More: “I Hesitated a Little”: Stan Wawrinka Reflects on Disappointing Loss at Australian Open 2021
At 35, there are doubts on whether the 18th-ranked Swiss will return to the Australian Open next year.
