The grass may not have produced Stan Wawrinka’s biggest titles. Indeed the 34-year-old Swiss had never won a title on the green stuff among 16 career titles that include three Majors.
And he had reached only one final among a tally of 13 that included three Masters finals and another French Open final, and that back in 2013 at s-Hertogenbosch.
Wawrinka had picked up Major trophies at Roland Garros, the US and the Australian Opens, but his best finish at Wimbledon was two quarter-finals, dating back to 2015: He had won just two matches there since.
As for Queen’s Club, where he was making his seventh appearance, his best finish was a semi-run back in 2014. He had won just two more matches here since his first visit in 2011.
Yet this year, he looked fit, fresh and eager, and he had a new coach, Dani Vallverdu, to help his grass preparation. He had put together this best season since double knee surgery in 2017, reaching the final in Rotterdam—his first in almost two years—and began to look his old bullish self at Roland Garros, where he reached the quarter-finals.
And against Briton Dan Evans in his opener here, Wawrinka played perhaps the best grass tennis he has played in years, full of attack, flair, and big-time shot-making: a crowd-pleaser featuring two one-handed backhands.
Wawrinka advanced to the second round and another meeting with a single-hander, another ‘old school’ player whose serve and volley game was honed in doubles, the veteran Frenchman Nicolas Mahut.
Now ranked 191 in singles, Mahut nevertheless had grass skills and passion to spare. All four of his single titles had come on the turf, between 2013 and 2016. And way back in 2007, he reached the final at Queen’s itself, losing out in a final-set tie-breaker to Andy Roddick, having held championship point.
There was more heartbreak at Wimbledon in 2010. Mahut reached the main draw via the qualifiers, during which he beat Alex Bogdanovic in a marathon, 6–3, 3–6, 24–22. A week later, he was beaten in the first round by John Isner in the longest match in tennis history, 70–68 in the fifth set.
But when it came to doubles, Mahut’s story was considerably more illustrious. He could boast victory at all of the Majors, and two more finals, plus six Masters titles, and was twice doubles champion at Queen’s. He had, indeed, reached the pinnacle, world No1 in doubles.
Yet the Frenchman took a wild card into the singles qualifying draw again this year, and survived two three-setters to claim his place among the 32-man main draw. Once there, he put out the 36-ranked 21–year-old Frances Tiafoe to set just a second meeting with Wawrinka. And he had won the first one—on grass, six years ago.
Here, though, Wawrinka continued his blistering form in the early stages of a warmer and drier day in London. He broke early, and held for 4-1. It was an advantage he held to the set’s swift end, 6-3.
Mahut, though, was warming up nicely, and gradually winning round the crowd on Centre Court. Here was old-fashioned, attacking tennis, with net attacks off the first and sometimes second serve, sliced backhands and efficient volley work. It was fast, neat and probing of the Swiss man’s aggressive serving and baseline game.
But when Mahut slipped and fell, it brought recollections of Evans’ fall the day before: a twisted knee. And of Juan Martin del Potro’s slip that, despite sealing the win also sealed the exit of the big Argentine—a repeat of the knee injury he suffered last October.
Mahut over-extended his left knee, but after a brief stoppage and no strapping, he continued, held serve, and took it to 6-5. And all at once, Wawrinka lost accuracy on his first serve, Mahut blocked his returns and came in for the kill, the break and the set, 7-5.
The crowd was increasingly behind the Frenchman, and he rose to the occasion. Wawrinka fended off early break points in the second game, and that spurred him and his thundering backhand on. The Swiss broke and would serve for the match.
Not so fast, Mahut determined. He made a deft drop volley winner, and attacked again to break back. With two hours on the clock, they headed to a tie-break, and Mahut was now flowing, taking time away from Wawrinka, and drawing errors. He opened a 4-1 lead, and served it out in style, 7-6(2).
It had been a high-quality, high-pace match packed with winners—75 in all. But the story of the tape spoke volumes: Mahut won 33 out of 44 net attacks, and the crowd was delighted.
The quietly-spoken Frenchman could not stop smiling, and all the more so when reminded of how long it had been since he first played here:
“I love playing on this surface, especially here. This is one of the best courts I have ever played on. When I played 10 years ago, the stand was smaller but the atmosphere was the same. Twelve years ago, lost to Roddick here. Time is flying past. I remember I had match point to win the tournament. But I am still here and trying, and I’ll be back tomorrow on this court.”
Talking of Wawrinka, he was full of praise:
“He played was much better for the first set and a half, but I kept fighting, and I was playing better and better, and I came back—and I feel so happy.
“It is such a great win for me, I have so much respect for Stan, and coming back in to the quarter-finals more than 10 years ago, it is a privilege.”
Mahut will next play another Frenchman, another 30-something, Gilles Simon, who beat No2 seed Kevin Anderson earlier in the day.
Elsewhere, No6 seed and 2016 finalist Milos Raonic beat Aljaz Bedene, 6-3, 7-6(3), and will now play Feliciano Lopez. The exciting young Canadian, Felix Auger-Aliassime beat former champion Grigor Dimitrov, 6-4, 6-4, and played his second match of the day against Nick Kyrgios.