In a poignant end to his long association with the tournament he won in 2014, 40-year-old Stan Wawrinka was defeated by ninth seed Taylor Fritz in the third round on John Cain Arena, with the roof closed due to extreme heat. Fritz prevailed 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in just over three hours, but the night belonged to the Swiss veteran, who received a heartfelt send-off from the Melbourne crowd.
Wawrinka, playing as a wildcard in what was announced as his final Australian Open (and possibly his final year on tour), pushed the powerful American hard. Fritz dominated with 30 aces on the indoor surface, while Wawrinka delighted fans with trademark one-handed backhand winners and drop shots, particularly in a dominant second set where he broke Fritz twice. Wawrinka forced a competitive first-set tiebreak and briefly threatened in the fourth before taking a medical timeout after the third set amid evident fatigue from his marathon second-round win. Fritz closed out the match with strong serving in the final game.
The post-match ceremony was the highlight. Tournament director Craig Tiley presented Wawrinka with a gift and shared beers on court with him. A montage of Wawrinka’s 2014 final victory over Rafael Nadal played on the big screen. Wawrinka did a lap of honour, pointing to his heart and thanking the crowd: “The atmosphere was once again unbelievable… I had so many memories here the last 20 years.” Fritz praised his opponent’s resilience and the passionate support for Wawrinka. At 40, Wawrinka became the first man since Ken Rosewall (1978) to reach the third round here.
General review of Day 7 activities
Day 7 was heavily impacted by scorching heat in Melbourne (Heat Stress Scale reaching 5.0), leading to roof closures on Rod Laver Arena and player discomfort, including cramps. Several matches were affected or suspended.
In men’s singles, Novak Djokovic (4) celebrated a milestone with a straight-sets win over Botic van de Zandschulp (6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4)), securing his 400th Grand Slam singles victory—the first player to reach that mark—and equalling Roger Federer’s record of 102 Australian Open wins. Djokovic admitted feeling “stressed” and nearly faced disqualification after an incident with a ballgirl but advanced to face 16th seed Jakub Mensik, who beat Ethan Quinn in straight sets with two tiebreaks.
Second seed Jannik Sinner rallied from a set down and cramps to defeat American Eliot Spizzirri (4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4), extending his Melbourne winning streak to 17 matches; the roof closure aided his recovery. Fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti survived a five-set, four-hour-27-minute battle against Tomáš Macháč (5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2) with 55 winners. Other advances included eighth seed Ben Shelton over Valentin Vacherot, 12th seed Casper Ruud (25 aces) over Marin Čilić in four sets, and 22nd seed Luciano Darderi upsetting 15th seed Karen Khachanov—ensuring three Italians in the fourth round.
On the women’s side, second seed Iga Swiatek recovered from dropping the second set to beat Anna Kalinskaya (6-1, 1-6, 6-1). Fifth seed Elena Rybakina cruised past Tereza Valentova (6-2, 6-3). China’s Wang Xinyu upset 13th seed Linda Noskova (7-5, 6-4) to reach her first AO fourth round. Two-time champion Naomi Osaka withdrew before her match against qualifier Maddison Inglis due to an abdomen injury, handing Inglis a walkover into the fourth round (where she faces Swiatek). Other advancers included defending champion Madison Keys, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula, and Coco Gauff.
The round of 16 now features intriguing matchups, including Djokovic vs Mensik and Swiatek vs Inglis, as the tournament moves forward amid the heat challenges and emotional stories.
