ATP Tour
Wildcard Wawrinka returns to Australian Open second round
Swiss veteran claims first Grand Slam win since Wimbledon 2024
January 19, 2026
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Stan Wawrinka won his first Australian Open title since 2021.
Written by ATP Staff
Stan Wawrinka secured his first Australian Open victory in five years on Monday, backed by fans.
The 40-year-old Swiss player, who is in his final season on tour, fought back from losing a set and defeated Serbian Laszlo Djere 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) to advance to the second round.
Despite only a handful of Swiss flags and red shirts in front of a packed Kia Arena crowd, the 2014 Australian Open champion received overwhelming support as he ended a four-match losing streak at the Grand Slams and won his first Grand Slam match since Wimbledon in 2024.
“It’s been a long journey. It’s been amazing, there are so many memories here, it’s unbelievable. The only reason I’m back is because of the love you guys have given me, and today was amazing,” Wawrinka said in an on-court interview. “This is my last year and the passion is still there. I’m not getting any younger, so I have to be careful.”
“Today was great and it’s so special to be out on the court playing in a Grand Slam. That’s why I train so hard every day with my team, to compete here against the best players in the world. I’m happy that I won and have the opportunity to play another match here. I’m trying to enjoy it, but I’m also a competitor, so I’m always going to fight and hopefully I can have another good game.”
Wawrinka used a lot of defensive chipping as the 40 stretched his legs into the corner, playing alongside Jere in the longer stand-offs, winning 58% of his points from nine or more shots, according to Infosys match statistics
The Swiss also dominated on serve, winning 86% of his first serves and 64% of his second serves. He had 18 break points in the match, three of which were broken, including a boomerang break in the fourth set when trailing 2-4.
“I worked harder on my serve, especially to get more free points and serve better. I’m glad it helped me in a match like today,” Wawrinka said. “I had a lot of chances to break serve…that’s when I started a little late or a little passively and I let the other opponent play more aggressively than me.
“In the end, it was great to finish a game like this, despite having so many chances with him, to break serve in the fourth game and win in the tiebreak.”
Wawrinka also won the 2015 French Open and the 2016 U.S. Open, Will next face the winner of 17 gamesth Czech seed Jiri Lehecka and 21-year-old French qualifier Arthur Gea.
Wawrinka was ranked 3rd in the PIF ATP rankings and is now ranked 20thth Australian Open appearances and 75th Start professionally.
