Wawrinka launches farewell season with thrilling win

Stan Wawrinka launched the final season of his career with a marathon 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5) win to give Switzerland an unassailable 2-0 lead over France at the United Cup on Saturday.

The 40-year-old held off Arthur Rinderknech to join team-mate Belinda Bencic as a winner after she began the tie 6-2, 6-4 over Leolia Jeanjean.

Wawrinka is competing in Perth for the first time in his long career and needed to battle for nearly three and a half hours to defeat an opponent a decade his junior.

The three-time Grand Slam champion sealed victory on his first match point and said: "It's amazing to have such support on my first time here.

"After 20 years on the tour it's amazing to finally play here. Today's match was tough but I'm happy we could start 2-0."

The United Cup has 18 nations and is a mixed-team event that serves as build-up to the Australian Open this month.

Also Saturday, in Sydney, Zhang Zhizhen led China to a 2-1 win over Belgium to begin their tournament.