To look at the Australian Open men’s singles draw, you could be forgiven for thinking you had travelled back in time. But your eyes are not deceiving you.
Seventeen years after they first appeared in the third round together in Melbourne, Stan Wawrinka, Novak Djokovic and Marin Cilic are still going strong.
While Djokovic, 38, and Cilic, 37, breezed through in straight sets against Francesco Maestrelli and 21st seed Denis Shapovalov respectively, 40-year-old Wawrinka battled through a four-and-a-half-hour, five-set marathon to overcome French qualifier Arthur Gea.
“I think it’s great,” said Wawrinka, who is the first player to reach the third round of the men’s singles at a Grand Slam after his 40th birthday since Ken Rosewall at the 1978 Australian Open.
“I saw Cilic winning. He had an injury last year [so] it’s good to see him at the right level.
“Novak is in a different league. We never compare ourselves to him. He’s always going to be there as long as he’s playing.”