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.
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.