Swiss veteran wins five-set battle against Ramos-Vinolas in four hours and 35 minutes
\nPARIS
\nFormer champion Stan Wawrinka shrugged off his 38 years to reach the French Open second round on Monday, winning a five-set marathon against Albert Ramos-Vinolas which stretched to four hours and 35 minutes and said: \u201cIt\u2019s why I keep playing\u201d.
\nWawrinka, ranked 89 in the world, came through 7-6 (7\/5), 6-4, 6-7 (2\/7), 1-6, 6-4 and will next face Australia\u2019s world number 108 Thanasi Kokkinakis after winning a match at Roland Garros for the first time since 2020.
\nPlaying out on the semi-sunken Court 14 arena, the Swiss veteran fired 76 winners and committed 79 unforced errors in an all-out attacking performance which brought back memories of his 2015 title triumph in Paris.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s one of the big reasons why I keep playing is to relive those emotions,\u201d said Wawrinka.
\n\u201cI think it was special today again to be here, a lot of support, a lot of fans here. It helped me a lot to stay in the match and to keep fighting for it.
\n\u201cI always try to make it special, try to have a connection with the people, with the fans, because as I say, it\u2019s one of the main reasons why I keep playing and I want to enjoy it as much as possible.\u201d
\nWith 14-time champion Rafal Nadal sidelined from the tournament for the first time since 2004 through injury, Wawrinka is one of only two champions in the draw \u2013 the other is Novak Djokovic, the title winner in 2016 and 2021.
\n\u201cI won here many years ago, a long time ago. I was much younger and playing different tennis,\u201d said Wawrinka.
\n\u201cBut it\u2019s always going to be special to be back here and always have that memory about 2015.\u201d
\nWawrinka, a three-time major winner, has been battling a series of knee injuries in recent years.
\nThe former world number three missed four successive majors after the 2021 Australian Open before returning in Paris last year.
\nHowever, he was defeated in the first round at the French Open and then at Wimbledon, the US Open and this year\u2019s Australian Open.
\nWawrinka and Kokkinakis, a player who has waged his own injury battles in recent years, have never met. \u201cWhen he\u2019s healthy, like he\u2019s been this year, he\u2019s always a dangerous player,\u201d said Wawrinka.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Swiss veteran wins five-set battle against Ramos-Vinolas in four hours and 35 minutes PARIS Former champion Stan Wawrinka shrugged off his 38 years to reach the French Open second round on Monday, winning a five-set marathon against Albert Ramos-Vinolas which stretched to four hours and 35 minutes and said: \u201cIt\u2019s why I keep playing\u201d. Wawrinka, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":334504,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-334475","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n