United Cup: Stan The Man who makes you feel good

The match between Switzerland and France was mainly marked by the encounter between Stan Wawrinka and Arthur Rinderknech. On one side, we have Stan Wawrinka, who is starting his final season at the age of 40, as he announced at the end of last year, and on the other, the new French number 1, currently ranked 29th in the world, whose memory of his Shanghai Masters 1000 final is still fresh.

We weren’t disappointed. Stan produced some superb down-the-line and cross-court backhands, and he certainly made the most of this match with those splendid shots. We saw a 40-year-old battle for 3 hours and 18 minutes against a Top 30 player, ultimately winning the match after two solid tie-breaks.

From the French perspective, it has to be said that this isn’t very encouraging as the Australian Open approaches. A number of things will need to be reviewed, particularly improving his control of the points, where Arthur seemed content to simply return the ball without truly taking charge of the rally. We know he’s capable of much better, as evidenced by his performance in 2025, where he challenged the very best players.