Wawrinka advances to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open

It was clear from the start that it would be difficult for Stanislas Wawrinka against the Russian. That's why it was all the easier to start the match, as evidenced by the quick win in the first set. However, the Russian subsequently took the next two sets from him, which put Wawrinka in zugzwang, but Stan always plays particularly well when he is under pressure. The match between the two was characterized by a battle from the baseline. Their hard-fought baseline play led to long rallies, sometimes to over 30, which demand a lot of nerve and stamina.

After the Frenchman won back the hard-fought 4th set in a tie-break, he was able to take a game from the Russian early on in the 5th set and quickly led 3:1 thanks to a break. But Medvedev didn't give in and almost got the re-break at 3:2, but Wawrinka fought hard and determined and secured the 4:2. This shot hit home. Now the Russian is under pressure. At 4:2 against the Russian, Medvedev turns up the heat once again and gains the upper hand, but Wawrinka counters stubbornly and then Medvedev makes the mistake of going to the net and Wawrinka gets the 5:2 with a successful passing ball somewhat unexpectedly but deservedly. Now the matter is actually clear, because Wawrinka serves in the following game. In the last game, Medvedev breaks for 0:15, then Wawrinka takes the 15:15 with an ace. Now Wawrinka's second ace hits the net: 30:15. Medvedev now knows what he has hit. Now Wawrinka inexplicably double faults and the score is 30:30. Can the Russian turn it around again? Now Wawrinka's 3rd ace in the same game follows: 40:30 and thus match point for Wawrinka. And with a winner, the Frenchman seals the fate of the Russian and deservedly enters the quarter-finals.

German No. 7 seed Alexander Zverev awaits the Frenchman in the quarterfinals. It is relatively difficult to assess how strong Zverev will be. Sometimes he plays strong and sometimes weak at such tournaments. But if Stan Wawrinka is as strong and determined in the quarterfinals as he was today in the round of 16, then he has a good chance of winning the quarterfinals and advancing to the semifinals. There he would meet either Rafael Nadal or Dominic Thiem, who would then be a different category of tennis hunk.