Wawrinka, 23 Years OIder than His Opponent Boogaard, Continues 2026 Rise

When Dutchman Thijs Boogaard was born in the summer of 2008, Stan Wawrinka was already staking a claim inside the ATP’s Top-10. 17 years later, Boogard is a rising talent who entered his hometown tournament as a lucky loser, and 40-year-old Wawrinka is in his final season on tour. 

And winning plenty of matches. 

Wawrinka took out Boogaard 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday at the ABN Amro, the three-time major champion setting a second-round clash with top-seeded Alex de Minaur. 

“I was really happy with the level today,” Wawrinka said. “I was really focused on my serve and trying to be aggressive. Conditions are quite slow here so it’s never easy to dictate.”

Most ATP Wins After Turning 40 (since 1990)

The contest goes down as the second biggest age gap between foes in ATP history, eclipsed only by the nearly 26-year gap between Dominic Thiem, 18, and Thomas Muster, 44, in 2011 at Vienna. 

Last month, Wawrinka was busy making more history at the Australian Open, where he became the oldest player to reach the third round since Ken Rosewall in 1978. The Swiss already has five wins on the season, and he’s into the Top-100 in the live rankings as of Wednesday. 

In other first-round action on Wednesday, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alexander Bublik and Stefanos Tsitsipas moved on.

Bublik got past birthday boy Hubert Hurkacz 6-7(2), 7-6(1), 7-5 in two hours and 25 minutes, surviving from a break down in the second set to eventually advance. Bublik will face Jan-Lennard Struff next. 

Auger-Aliassime, always a force indoors, got past Alexei Popyrin, 7-5, 6-3 to set a round two clash with Hamad Medjedovic. 

Tsitsipas topped Arthur Rinderknech 7-5, 6-3 to set a second-round tilt with hometown favorite Botic van de Zandschulp.