Inspired Stan rallies into second round at home

Stan Wawrinka made the most of his 18th start at the Swiss Indoors on Tuesday, with the crowd hero fighting from 4-1 down in the second set to sweep past Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1, 7-6 (3) .

The 40-year-old with three Grand Slam titles turned in a proud performance in front of a Swiss home crowd as he dispatched his Serb opponent in 82 minutes.

The No. 158 is the oldest man to win a match here and nudged his Basel record into positive 17-16 territory with his success.

“It’s always special to play here,” the winner said. “This was my best match so far this year. I was nervous before the start but happy with what I did tonight.”

The veteran dominated in the opening set but had to make up the gap in the second as he closed the deficit by creating chances against Kecmanovic.

He advanced with 12 aces among his 33 winners, breaking three times and delivering a service winner on match point.

“It’s amazing to play at this level,” Wawrinka said. “I’m happy with the performance and looking forward to the next one.

“We’ve been putting in the hard work every day, I keep pushing my career a bit longer. I’ve not had amazing results this year but I’m pushing to find my level.”

Wawrinka has a rest day before taking on the winner from Casper Ruud and France’s Quentin Halys.