Wawrinka Kicks off Final Season with a Win in Perth

40-year-old Stan Wawrinka kicked off his final season on tour with an impressive victory on Saturday at United Cup in Perth. The three-time major champion took out Arthur Rinderknech in a high-octane battle, 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, to lock up victory for Switzerland, after Belinda Bencic had defeated France’s Leolia Jeanjean, 6-2, 6-4.

157th-ranked Wawrinka needed three hours and 18 minutes to get past the world No.29. He did it the hard way, capturing tiebreaks in sets two and three, notching his 583rd career ATP win in the process.

“It’s amazing to start the year like this for me. It’s my first time in Perth,” Wawrinka said. “A lot of support today, so it was an amazing feeling to play such a difficult match. A tough condition, of course. More than three hours, so doesn’t help, but super happy with the fight, with the performance, and to help the Swiss team to get to 2-0 up.”

What pleased Wawrinka the most about his gritty win?

“I think the discipline I had with myself,” he said. “The fighting. I always try to fight, always try to find solution. But I stayed really positive all the match. I was really focused on myself trying to be a bit more aggressive, trying to find the solution, and really happy with the performance.”

Wawrinka has now won a match on tour in 23 different seasons – only three players (Connors (25), Federer (24) and Gasquet (24)) have won more.

China Takes Down Belgium

Zhang Zhizhen delivered a pair of victories to lead China to a 2-1 victory over Belgium in Sydney. Zhang defeated Zizou Bergs in two hours and 53 minutes (6-7(2), 7-6(3), 7-5) to force a deciding mixed doubles tilt, then paired with Zhu Lin to earn a 5-7, 7-6(5), 10-6 victory.

Belgium has yet to win a United Cup tie, while China is seeking to reach the quarterfinals for the third time.

Zhang, ranked 410, only won five matches on tour last year and missed significant time due to injuries.