Aging like a fine wine! Stan Wawrinka didn’t have a great outing in the initial phases of the 2024 season, but since the Stockholm Open, he seems to be carrying the gleam of vintage Wawrinka. The 39-year-old superstar reached the SF in Stockholm and in Basel, he has already got off to a winning start. He defeated France’s Adrian Mannarino in the first round (R32) by three sets and with this victory; he has now secured another milestone in front of his home crowd in Basel which earned him strong appreciation from the tennis legend, Boris Becker. What is the record, though?

In Stockholm, Stan Wawrinka became the third-oldest ATP semi-finalist since 1990 and now at the Swiss Indoors tournament, he becomes the oldest player to ever win a match in Basel. He’s now 39 years and six months old, and with this win against Mannarino, he has now left behind the likes of Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer. Connors achieved this feat in 1991 when he was also 39 years old, while Roger Federer’s last win at the Swiss Indoors came at the age of 38 in 2019.

Hailing this extraordinary feat of the three-time Grand Slam champion, Boris Becker shared a post captioned, “Stan is the Man.” However, this isn’t the first time that we’re seeing this type of comments from the German towards Stan Wawrinka. In 2023, during the Indian Wells Masters, pleased with Wawrinka’s performance against Holger Rune in the third round, Becker posted a similar comment (“Stan the Man“) on his IG stories.

Following his victory, the 39-year-old tennis player said, “It’s a pleasure to come to Basel each year, it’s one of the reasons why I aim to keep going, so I want to thank the tournament for the invitation, for the chance to play in the main draw.” FYI, Stan Wawrinka entered the tournament after receiving a main draw wildcard. Now, it’ll be interesting to see if he can carry this momentum forward.

He will face the American star, Ben Shelton in the second round and this will be the first meeting between the two. Wawrinka is going strong! But what makes Stan Wawrinka age-proof? Well, let’s hear it from him!

“The motivation must come from within” – Stan Wawrinka

In an interview during the Stockholm Open, Stan Wawrinka opened up about his retirement plans and also reflected on what keeps him going even at the age of 39. After Rafael Nadal’s retirement announcement at 38, everyone is a bit curious to know if the 39-year-old has made up his mind around retirement. Answering all those curious fans during the Stockholm Open, Wawrinka claimed, “I have never said that I am making any decision to retire myself from tennis this year. I’ve said I’m getting older, and of course I’m near the end, but I’m still playing well and I’m competitive when I play.”

He said he enjoys what he does and loves waking up and going to training and still having the opportunity to play in these types of tournaments. “As long as I enjoy it, I will continue to push myself a little bit,” stated ‘Stan the Man’. Revealing his secret, Wawrinka said, “The motivation must come from within. If you have to force yourself to stay motivated, it means you are not passionate enough about what you are doing“.

He further added that he loves being a tennis player so it becomes very easy for him to push himself a little further. What are your thoughts on Stan Wawrinka’s incredible performances in the last few matches?