Melbourne: Stan Wawrinka admitted Wednesday he ran out of steam in his Australian Open quarter-final after a gruelling tournament, but is taking a lot of positives out of the first Grand Slam of the year. The veteran Swiss crashed out in the last eight to German young gun Alexander Zverev, unable to maintain a blistering start as he lost 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. "I think after one set and a half, for sure, I was going a bit down physically. Also lack of energy," he said. "But he was playing well, was serving big.

I think I could have done better in the second and the third set." The three-time Grand Slam champion -- a winner at Melbourne Park in 2014 -- came into the match after a tough five-set win over fourth seed Daniil Medvedev. That followed another five-setter in round two against Andreas Seppi, and they appeared to take their toll on the 34-year-old. "In the end, if I look at the third set and fourth set, I was struggling to really push myself. It was not enough," he said. Despite failing to make his first Slam semi-final since his run to the French Open final in 2017, Wawrinka was happy to again reach the second week of a Major, which he said set him up well for the season.