On Thursday night in Metz, Stan Wawrinka exhibited the qualities that have given him the moniker "Stan The Man."
The former World No. 3 defeated top seed Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-3 despite blowing a match point in the second set to advance to the Moselle Open quarterfinals. Since losing to Andrey Rublev at the 2020 Rolex Paris Masters, the 37-year-old had not defeated a Top 10 player.
When the Swiss star lost his chance to end the match in the second-set tie-break, everything seemed to be going wrong. Both players maintained their neutrality in the rally at 6/5, striking the ball down the middle of the court with margin. By attempting to rip a backhand, which he slightly mishit and pulled wide, Wawrinka broke this pattern.
The tide was firmly in Medvedev's favour until he fought through the tie-break to force a last match. But Wawrinka flipped the situation back in his favour by dominating the final set, leading 3-0.