Stan Wawrinka, at 39, Surpasses Rublev and Advances to Semis in Stockholm

“At my age, not too bad”: at 39 years old, Swiss player Stan Wawrinka, currently ranked 217th in the world, defeated Russian star Andrey Rublev, the 7th ranked player, to secure a spot in the semi-finals of the ATP 250 Stockholm tournament on Friday.

Since the summer of 2023, the Swiss hadn’t achieved a streak of three consecutive wins. In Sweden, he overcame American Brandon Nakashima (38th), Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (64th), and now a Top 10 member, a feat he hadn’t accomplished in over a year.

With his backhand still lively, exemplified by his first match point converted, Wawrinka got the better of Rublev, leaving the Russian’s racket with bitter memories of the Swedish court, defeating him in two sets 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5).

Now one of the oldest semi-finalists in the Open era, Wawrinka is two matches away from his first title since 2017, at Geneva.

Having entered the circuit in 2002, he claimed the Australian Open in 2014, the French Open in 2015, and the US Open in 2016.

“I can’t change my age, but the most important thing for me is that when I step onto the court, I always fight,” he emphasized.

Last May, before his 19th Roland-Garros appearance, he told AFP that “the desire and passion are still there.”