Swiss Stan Wawrinka was in a jubilant mood. The 2015 Roland Garros champion had just played “the most complete” match of his past few months, dominating two-time ATP Tour titlist Cristian Garin of Chile 6-1, 6-4, 6-0 to make the third round in Paris.
But, unfortunately, not everyone was able to enjoy the moment as much. Wawrinka, while going through the usual post-match routing of signing autographs and tossing towels into the stands, spied a child crying in the front row on Court No. 1
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Wawrinka’s fans were being a bit too eager – read: pushing – and the boy was in pain and crying. So Wawrinka reached into the stands, picked the boy up and placed him on the court. Then Wawrinka consoled the child, chatting with him and patting his tummy.
“I took him out of that mess a little bit, and he was in pain and sad,” Wawrinka said.
The boy was also separated from his father. Wawrinka found out where the boy’s father was sitting, and, with help from a security guard, walked and guided the boy back to safety into the stands.
“I tried to make him feel better, give him a towel, and try to find his dad,” Wawrinka said.
On the court, Wawrinka was as just clutch under pressure, saving all five break points faced. He’ll meet Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 32.