Stan Wawrinka’s brilliant run at the 2023 Indian Wells Masters continued as he booked his place in the fourth round of the tournament with a 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 win over seventh seed Holger Rune in 2 hours and 40 minutes on Monday.
The Swiss produced a terrific performance against the Danish teenager to produce one of the upsets of the Masters 1000 event. Wawrinka had a match point in the second set, which Rune saved to take the encounter into the decider. However, the 37-year-old eventually managed to get the job done and book his place in the next round.
Stan Wawrinka’s performance earned him a lot of plaudits from tennis players, journalists and fans.
Former top 5 player and Andre Agassi’s ex-coach Brad Gilbert remarked that the three-time Grand Slam champion was good to watch despite being nearly 38.
“Stanimal at almost.38 years young is such a good watch,” Gilbert tweeted.
Stanimal at almost.38 years young is such a good watch 💪👊👍😎
— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) March 13, 2023
Gilbert also hailed Wawrinka for holding his nerve after squandering a match point in the second set.
“Tremendous regroup from Stanimal after 2nd set taking out Rune DMC, impressive hitting through the slow courts and had the crowd rocking,” the 61-year-old tweeted.
tremendous regroup from Stanimal after 2nd set taking out Rune DMC, impressive hitting through the slow courts and had the crowd rocking 💪👊👍😎🏟️
— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) March 13, 2023
Former World No. 1 Boris Becker also took to Instagram to praise Wawrinka after his victory.
“Stan the Man,”- Becker captioned his story.
One tennis fan, meanwhile, was ecstatic about the fact that Stan Wawrinka proved once again that he has the game to defeat younger players.
“Stan, in case you’ve forgotten, is the Man. Proving once again that he has the game to beat even the youngest of the young guns, Stan Wawrinka defeats Holger Rune, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5, in Indian Wells. Then, there was whatever Rune thought he was doing during that handshake,” the fan’s tweet read.
Stan, in case you’ve forgotten, is the Man.
Proving once again that he has the game to beat even the youngest of the young guns, Stan Wawrinka defeats Holger Rune, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5, in Indian Wells.
Then, there was whatever Rune thought he was doing during that handshake… 👀 pic.twitter.com/QvGCalgAku
— Tick Tock Tennis (@TickTockTennis) March 13, 2023
Here are some more reactions to Wawrinka’s win:
The state of the ATP tour…
A 19 year old, fully fit Holger Rune is getting beat by a 42 year old, soon to be retired Stan Wawrinka.
Has the level of the playing field been ever weaker than this? 🤔
— Zain Mustafa (@ItzzZain10) March 13, 2023
THE MAN ROAAAARS! 🔥🇨🇭
Stan Wawrinka defeats Holger Rune and reaches the 4th round in Indian Wells! 💥
🔸 Third top-10 win in the last 52 weeks.
🔸 First top-10 win in a Masters 1000 since Paris 2020.
🔸 First R16 in a Masters 1000 on outdoor hard since Cincinnati 2018. pic.twitter.com/nk8UiCVWyl— Relevant Tennis (@RelevantTennis) March 13, 2023
Stan Wawrinka beats #8 Holger Rune 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 to reach the last 16 in Indian Wells. Big, big win, specially after losing the second set from MP up.
Getting better and better at almost 38yo
Awaits Sinner or Mannarino tomorrow.
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) March 13, 2023
Stan Wawrinka might be turning 38 in a few days, but holy heck is he trying to squeeze the last few drops of his career left and doesn’t want to retire with any regrets. He’s defeated 3 Top 10 players in Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, and Holger Rune in the last 5 months.
— Vansh (@vanshv2k) March 13, 2023
Inject this into my veins https://t.co/jrhCStmtIH
— Flami Sinnerista 🦊 (@Sinnerista) March 13, 2023
Stan owns that little kid
— Jack Young (@JackSYoung2) March 13, 2023
Instead of talking about Rune’s attitude at the net, can we just talk about the passion for the game of this guy who will turns 38 this month, who won everything in tennis but who’s still fighting so hard and enjoy every single moment on the court.
Inspiring ❤️ https://t.co/QvxslQ9wGj
— Lisa #RForever ❤️ (@lisa_wawrinka) March 13, 2023
Stan Wawrinka will face Jannik Sinner in the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters
After overcoming Rune, Wawrinka will next face 11th seed Jannik Sinner in the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters. The Italian is yet to drop a set in Indian Wells and booked his place in the Round of 16 with a 7-6(7), 6-4 win over Adrian Mannarino.
It will be the fourth meeting between the two, with their head-to-head currently tied at 2-2. They recently locked horns in the quarterfinals of the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam, with Sinner winning 6-1, 6-3. The winner of the clash will face either defending champion Taylor Fritz or Marton Fucsovics in the quarterfinals of the Indian Wells Masters.