Stan Wawrinka fought his way into the third round of the US Open with a lot of effort. The Swiss won in four sets 7:6 (7:5), 4:6, 6:3 and 7:5 against the French qualifier Ugo Humbert.
New York. It really wasn’t a pleasure in the incubating tropical heat of Flushing Meadow, this game. It wasn’t a show of glory either.
But what mattered to Stan Wawrinka on this US Open Wednesday was only to have fought his way into the third round and somehow saved her from crossing the finish line. 7:6 (7:5), 4:6, 6:3 and 7:5, after a sweaty 201 minutes against the French qualifier Ugo Humbert.
Wawrinka, who became the tennis king of New York in 2016, now meets the Canadian service gunner Milos Raonic after the battle of weariness. “It was a hard experience, extremely humid. Good thing it’s over,” Wawrinka said at the Grandstand Court.
The evening before, the focus had not been on Roger Federer with his 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win over Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka, but once again on Patty Schnyder – the amazing 39-year-old comebacker who had ever made it into the US Open main field as the oldest qualifier.
In the 2:6, 6:7 (6:8) defeat against the Russian Maria Sharapova, Schnyder demonstrated her almost timeless qualities – the technically fine game, the wide range of variations, the tactical skill.
Even a 1:5 deficit could be made up for by Schnyder, who now lives in the north of Germany. Only with the fourth match point Scharapowas did the brilliant stylist give in shortly before midnight in the new Louis Armstrong stadium.
“It was a great experience,” said Schnyder, who celebrated her 40th birthday in December and had already reached the quarter-finals of the American Grand Slam 20 years ago. After all, the hardworking tennis mother, whose four-year-old daughter Charlotte was also the eyewitness of the match, collected 54,000 dollars in prize money and 50 world ranking points.
After his match, Federer, Schnyder’s long-time companion, criticised the Spanish football pro Gerard Pique, who had advanced with plans for a Davis Cup final in September and thus also competed with the Laver Cup – which the Swiss Maestro co-organised. “He must be more careful with what he says,” explained Federer, “it’s funny to have a footballer in our world.
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