Stan Wawrinka will compete on the big scene at the upcoming Shanghai Masters. The former quarter-finalist will stand as the oldest player in the draw and with a chance of facing Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic.
The 40-year-old comes to China after back-to-back deep runs at Challengers in France, earning 85 ATP points and achieving his best ranking position since July last year.
Wawrinka is 2-10 on the ATP level this year, struggling against younger opponents and hoping to change that in Shanghai. The Swiss started the season with defeats on the main level.
He finally scored a win in Bucharest before experiencing more early defeats in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Stan returned to Challengers and advanced to the final in Aix-en-Provence.
The three-time Major winner collected two Challenger semi-finals in July and August before missing a month. He recharged his batteries and played at a high level in Rennes and Saint-Tropez, losing in the semi-final and withdrawing ahead of the final a week later.
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Wawrinka has collected 166 Masters 1000 wins and a title in Monte Carlo. He is 13-11 in Shanghai, reaching the quarter-final two times and losing them to Rafael Nadal.
Stan retired against Radek Stepanek in 2009 and fell to Nadal a year later in the second round. Andy Murray halted him in three sets in 2011 after an entertaining battle.
Wawrinka missed his chances against Roger Federer in 2012, losing a tight second set before fading from the court in the third. He reached the last eight in 2013 and 2015, with Rafa haltinghis progress.
Stan is 2-4 in Shanghai after 2015. He suffered early defeats to Gilles Simon, Borna Coric and Dusan Lajovic before edging Giovanni Mpetshi-Perricard last year in two tie breaks.
The veteran fought well against Flavio Cobolli before falling in three sets. The organizers have given him another chance to compete in the main draw, likely for the last time in a career.
