By Chris Oddo | Sunday, June 2, 2019
Stan Wawrinka saved all eight break points he faced in the fifth set and edged Stefanos Tsitsipas in a classic on Lenglen.
Photo credit: Getty
Stan Wawrinka upset Stefanos Tsitsipas in five compelling sets on Sunday at Court Suzanne Lenglen.
The Swiss reaches the quarter-finals at a major for the first time since 2017 and will move on to face Roger Federer in the quarter-finals on Tuesday in Paris.
Here are five things to know about Sunday’s riveting battle.
1. It was the longest match of #RG19
At 5:09 Wawrinka and Tsitsipas have played the only five-plus hour match of this year’s tournament. There have been nine matches in total that have gone over four hours but Wawrinka and Tsitsipas went 36 minutes longer than Benoit Paire and Pierre-Hugues Herbert today.
Wawrinka’s 7-6(6) 5-7 6-4 3-6 8-6 victory marks his 27th career five-set win against 21 losses.
2. Wawrinka saved 8 of 8 break points in the fifth set
34-year-old Wawrinka was by no means perfect in this match but he was good when he needed to be, especially in the deciding set. Wawrinka saved all eight break points he faced in the decider, including three in the first game of the set, two in the fifth game and another three in the eleventh game.
"I got a little bit lucky on a few break points," Wawrinka said after the match. "A few I was really aggressive playing better. I knew that as long as I could stay in front in the score that I will get my chance sooner or later. For me, it was important to stay strong mentally in those important points, and I'm happy and proud the way I did it".
In total Wawrinka faced 27 break points on the day and he saved 22 of them.
3. Tsitsipas was heartbroken after the loss
“I feel exhausted,” Tsitsipas told reporters after the match. “I don't know. Never experienced something like this in my life. I feel very disappointed at the end. [It has been a] long time since I cried after a match, so emotionally wasn't easy to handle. I will try to learn from it as much as I can.”
Tsitsipas had control of the fifth set but could not punch through against the steely Wawrinka. He could have been better—he saw second serves from the Swiss on four of the eight opportunities.
“I was so close, so close,” he told reporters. “I give him room to do whatever he likes, all those break points. So many break points. So many. Didn't play. I was expecting someone else to play it for me. I didn't play.”
4. Wawrinka will need to make a swift recovery
At 5:09, Wawrinka spent more almost as much time on court today as Roger Federer has in his last three rounds. Federer needed 5:29 to get through Oscar Otte, Casper Ruud and Leonardo Mayer in the last five days. Wawrinka has been on court for a total of 12:27 to get to the quarter-finals. Federer has needed just 7:10 to reach the quarter-finals.
It won’t be an easy recovery for Wawrinka but he can be energized by the fact that he made it through his marathon with Tsitsipas with no significant issues.
5. Wawrinka hit one of the most amazing shots to clinch the win
This match might still be going on if it hadn’t been for Wawrinka’s magic on his second match point. How does he slip this ball into the court, even with Tsitsipas covering the line. If ever a shot had eyes, this was it. Go to 3:50 on the video below to see the glorious slice and stay for the awesome celebration and handshake that ensues
"It was amazing battle today," Wawrinka told reporters. "Today we saw only one centimeter can change the winner. I think he would have deserve as much as me to win the match today. It's for sure a tough loss for him, but it was something that was big battle. I'm happy with everything that I have done today, the way I was fighting, the way I was staying with him, even if I was tired, the way I start to play a little bit more aggressive."