Stan the man: Wawrinka’s 5-set win gets him Federer

Associated Press

PARIS

This is why Stan Wawrinka went through two operations on his left knee in the span of a month. Why he dealt with the rigors of rehabilitating that joint.

Why he did all the work, on and off the court, required to get back on the grind, to raise his ranking from outside the top 250, to matter again in the sport he loves.

So he could participate in, and win, matches like the 5-hour, 9-minute test of excellence, endurance and emotions that the 34-year-old Wawrinka barely claimed against the 20-year-old, caked-in-clay Stefanos Tsitsipas by a 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 score Sunday at the French Open to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time in two years.

And so he could advance to what comes now: a matchup Tuesday against his friend and countryman Roger Federer, who hasn’t dropped a set so far in the tournament.

“That’s the reason why came back. ... I love and enjoy to play in front of people, to play in the biggest tournaments you can play. Today was something really special,” said Wawrinka, who won the 2015 championship at Roland Garros for one of his three major trophies. “For sure, when I’m on the court, I try to enjoy and remember, also, everything I have done to be here.”

Exhausted as he was by a match finally decided by a backhand that floated past Tsitsipas and landed on the outside edge of a line, Wawrinka still possessed the energy to joke about facing Federer, who has won 22 of their previous 25 meetings.

When a reporter, perhaps trying to offer some hope, pointed out Federer, 37, is the older man, Wawrinka smiled and responded: “Yeah, but he is much better than me, also. So never forget that.”

Nothing quite so riveting earlier, when Federer beat 68th-ranked Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 to become the oldest men’s singles quarterfinalist in Paris since 1971.

Joining Federer in the quarterfinals, oddly enough by the same score, was 11-time champion Rafael Nadal, who was never troubled by 78th-ranked Juan Ignacio Londero of Argentina. Nadal next meets No. 7 Kei Nishikori or Benoit Paire.