Wawrinka joins Connors and Federer in unique statistic after reaching Wimbledon third round

Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka has joined fellow countryman Roger Federer and the former world number one America’s Jimmy Connors in a unique record.

The three-time Grand Slam winner reached the third round of the Wimbledon 2023 after beating Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry with a score of 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday.

While doing so, he became only the third player in the history of men’s singles tennis to reach the round of 32 at Wimbledon at the age of 38.

The other two players include the likes of 20-time Grand Slam winner Federer and 12-time major titles winner Connors.

Wawrinka has remained under the shadow of the ‘Big Three’ despite his achievements on the court over the last two decades.

Despite playing in an era which was largely dominated by the likes of Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, the Lausanne-born managed to win three out of the four Grand Slam titles.

The only major tournament where he is yet to lift the title is Wimbledon where his best outings have been the quarterfinals stage which he achieved back in 2014 and in 2015.

Wawrinka won his first major title in 2014 when he defeated the former world number one and 22-time Grand Slam winner Nadal in the final of the Australian Open with a score of 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3.

He then went on to win the French Open a year later after getting the better of Djokovic with a score of 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–4.

His last Grand Slam title triumph was back in 2016 when again proved to be too good for the current world number two and secured the victory with a score of 6–7, 6–4, 7–5, 6–3.

Wawrinka will now face Djokovic, who is defending his title, in the third round of Wimbledon 2023 on Friday.