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Stan Wawrinka picked up the first tour-level win of his 2025 season at the Bucharest Open on Tuesday (April 1), getting the better of Kazakhstan's Timofey Skatov in three tough sets. The Swiss hadn't won a match at the ATP level since the 2024 Basel Open last October.
Wawrinka, ranked 161st in the world, suffered a foot injury in 2023 that affected his game for the majority of last year. The 40-year-old began this year by losing four back-to-back matches on the men's tour, following which he decided to go back to the drawing board and play qualifying and Challenger-level matches.
Wawrinka struggled there as well, exiting in the second-qualifying round of the Qatar Open and the quarterfinals of the Naples Challenger. However, he has made amends with a hard-fought 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(1) win against Kazakh qualifier Timofey Skatov in the first round of this week's Bucharest Open.
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The former World No. 3, who received a wildcard entry into the ATP 250 tournament, held three match points against his younger opponent in the second set but failed to capitalize, stretching the clash into the deciding set. The three-time Major winner eventually came through in three hours and 16 minutes and will next face second-seeded Pedro Martinez in the Round of 16.
Stan Wawrinka looking to become oldest title-winner since inception of ATP Tour in 1990
With his first-round victory at the 2025 Bucharest Open, Stan Wawrinka joined Jimmy Connors (25), Roger Federer (24), Rafael Nadal (23) and Richard Gasquet (24) as the only players to have over 20 seasons where they won a competitive match. The World No. 161 has enjoyed 22 tour-level seasons with at least one ATP win under his belt.
Wawrinka will be eager to achieve another rather exemplary feat later this week. The 40-year-old can become the oldest singles champion on the ATP Tour since its inception, provided he wins his 17th career title in Bucharest. Gael Monfils holds the current record for being the oldest tour-level titlist at 38 years and 132 days, having won the ASB Classic earlier this year.
For academic purposes, the former World No. 3 Swiss' compatriot and 20-time Major winner Roger Federer held the above record before this year at 38 days and 74 days. Even if the three-time Major winner doesn't go all the way at the Bucharest Open this week, he can take pride in being in an elusive list of men's players with a claycourt victory after turning 40 (alongside Jimmy Connors and Ivo Karlovic).
