Notably, this will be Wawrinka’s fifth quarter-final in Melbourne and his first at this event since 2017.
Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka celebrates after victory against Russia's Daniil Medvedev during their men's singles match on day eight of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 27, 2020. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)
Swiss star Stan Wawrinka, who had ended up on the losing side in each of his two previous ATP clash encounters with Daniil Medvedev of Russia in Grand Slam tournaments, staged a captivating comeback win at the Australian Open on Monday. The 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 win over Medvedev has helped the Swiss confirm a place in the quarter-finals.
”That was an amazing match and an amazing atmosphere,” Wawrinka said in his on-court interview as quoted by an ATP Tour Press Release.
“It was really tough to play against Daniil. I had to raise my level in the fourth and fifth sets. The level was super high and the atmosphere is always something special here in Australia,” he added.
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“I’m finding solutions. I was losing a bit of confidence in the second and third sets and was fighting against myself to play my game. I had to fight, stay positive and I’m happy with the result,” he stated.
Notably, this will be Wawrinka’s fifth quarter-final in Melbourne and his first at this event since 2017. Wawrinka will be up against either Alexander Zverev of Germany or Andrey Rublev of Russia in the quarters.
While Wawrinka has a 1-1 ATP Head to Head record against Rublev, he is yet to win a match against Zverev.
“As a tennis player and tennis fan, I always try to watch the big matches. It’s going to be interesting to see them play,” Wawrinka said.
“It’s amazing for me to keep playing here and to play at that level. I’m really proud of what I’ve done on the court and I’m looking forward to playing in the quarter-finals,” he added.
Wawrinka was in the peak of his form when he started the match as he disrupted Medvedev’s flat groundstrokes with ease using various angles. He was clearly the better player at display in the opening set of the match.
However, Medvedev fought back extremely well to claim the next two sets. In the fourth set, which was the tightest of all, Wawrinka held on to his nerves in the pressure situation to go past his opponent and took the momentum into the final set.
Not long after, Wawrinka received his first match point and he needed no second invitation to reach the quarter-finals, finishing the match with as many as 71 winners against his name.
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