Stan’s the man as veteran claims Davis Cup victory for Switzerland
On Saturday, just a few weeks shy of his 38th birthday, Stan Wawrinka helped Switzerland advance to the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals by defeating Germany in a thrilling matchup that decided the tournament.
Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion who helped the Swiss win the Davis Cup in 2014 with Roger Federer, defeated Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to help Switzerland win 3-2 in their qualifying match.
Wawrinka, who had two foot surgeries and dropped to 135 after a lengthy period of rebuilding his career, was playing in the tournament for the first time in eight years, having made his debut in 2004.
Altmaier, on the other hand, was 13 years older and making his Davis Cup debut in Trier.
Wawrinka, who turns 38 next month, lost to Alexander Zverev in straight sets in his singles debut on Friday.
He was on the losing side once more earlier on Saturday when he and Dominic Stricker were defeated by Tim Puetz and Andreas Mies in the doubles 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-4.
However, Switzerland was level at 2-2 when Marc-Andrea Huesler beat world number 14 Zverev 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) to set up Wawrinka’s moment in the spotlight.
Wawrinka stated, “I’m happy that I won one point, and the last one was the most important.”
Our team is exceptional. These past few years have seen them build this team. I would gladly return if they required me.
The United States of America, who have won the 123-year-old competition a record 32 times, also qualified for the group stage in September by defeating Uzbekistan in Tashkent.
In just 52 minutes, the skilled doubles team of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram defeated Sanjar Fayziev and Sergey Fomini 6-2, 6-4.
David Nainkin, the captain of the United States, whose team had led 2-0 overnight, said, “I was so excited to see Raj and Austin play today.”
