Stan Wawrinka battled past Andrey Rublev 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5) to become the third oldest player ever to reach an ATP Tour semifinal at the Nordic Open in Stockolm at the age of 39.
Wawrinka has scored his first top 10 win in 14 months. The Swiss player has become the second oldest this century to beat a top 10 player.
Wawrinka saved two break points in the eighth game to draw level to 4-4. The first set went on serve en route to the tie-break. Wawrinka won five consecutive points after a double fault and converted his fourth set point.
Wawrinka earned the first break at love in the second game of the second set to take a 2-0 lead. Rublev broke straight back in the third game and saved two break points to hold serve for 2-2. Wawrinka went up a mini-break twice, but Rublev pulled back on serve both times to draw level to 5-5. Wawrinka earned the decisive mini-break to take a 6-5 lead and and sealed the win with a backhand win.
Wawrinka achieved his third win in the fifth head-to-head match between two Olympic champions. Wawrinka won the doubles title in Beijing 2008 with Roger Federer. Rublev won the mixed doubles gold medal in Tokyo 2021.
“The key was to stay focused and positive with myself. Andrey is such an amazing match. Today I was feeling good on the court. I was moving well and I could start to dictate a little bit. With so much it’s always easier to fight on the court, so thank you very much everybody. It was important to stay against such a strong opponent. I felt good throughout the match and moved well”, said Wawrinka.
