It’s not that Stanislas Wawrinka lacks confidence: That much has been plain in his journey back inside the top 10—a place he visited for five months more than six years.
Now 29 and a father, he put his head down, worked harder and, slowly but surely, reaped his rewards in gripping contests with the elite of the game.
And he talked of that confidence when he arrived in Rome this weekend, relatively unconcerned about his early loss to the fast-rising young Austrian Dominic Thiem—by chance, a player with many of the same show-stopping qualities in his tennis as Wawrinka himself.
He was asked about the chances of one of the ‘chasing pack’ in the tennis rankings breaking through the infamous stranglehold that Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have maintained on men’s tennis.
“For myself yes, I know that I can beat them, am confident that when I am playing my best game, I have a good chance against them. For the others I don’t know.
“I think this not because I won a Grand Slam or a Masters in Monte Carlo. It’s not that easy. If you look at the results, Rafa is there—will win Madrid, and let’s see who is going to win here.”
So far, so good from one of the rare breed in almost a decade to deny those three one of the Grand Slams. Andy Murray, of course, has done it twice, but has been struggling to regain that form since back surgery at the end of 2013. Juan Martin del Potro did it in 2009 but is now absent for a second time to have wrist surgery since his US Open victory. Only a handful of others has even made it to a Major final, but Wawrinka crashed the party with his first Grand Slam in Australia.
Yet despite that achievement, despite winning his first Masters in Monte Carlo—and more importantly, despite sitting at No3 in the rankings and No2 in the race—he defers to his three illustrious peers at almost every turn.
Having talked of confidence, he continued: “Take the three guys… for me they are way better than all the others players, and way better than me. They still win everything. So it’s going to be an interesting season, but I still think they are going to be there and win a lot of tournaments.”
He persisted in his view when asked about the high profile of his three colleagues in Rome and ahead of the French Open.
“I think it’s normal. Nadal is the big favourite, as always, and Novak is coming back after a small injury, and there’s Roger, so it’s normal. They’re the three big favourites for here and the French Open. For me there’s no problem: I’ve been practising well and getting ready for the tournament.
“I know how is it. The first ones are always important, but if I can play well I can do some damage.”
That, for followers of the quietly-spoken Swiss, has become something of an understatement. For Wawrinka’s game has long been admired not just by his fellow players but by tennis fans the world over—a compelling mix of power and elegance, an attacking game of strength from the baseline and the net, and boasting perhaps the best single-handed backhand in the game.
He broke the top 10 back in 2008, but back then, he could not find the consistency, or perhaps the constant self-belief, to maintain his standing.
However, 2013 proved to be a big year, one in which he steadily chased down his high-profile compatriot Federer for the kudos of being the top-ranked Swiss for the first time. He failed—but only until the start of 2014.
The man whose fighting spirit is writ large on his arm—Samuel Beckett’s “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better”—began his chase in Melbourne last year, where he played one of the matches of his career to take defending champion Djokovic to 10-12 in the final set of their fourth-round match.
Wawrinka recruited Magnus Norman as his coach—a partnership that has clearly gelled perfectly—and came close to beating Federer in a superb two-and-a-half hour match at Indian Wells.
“Stan the Man”, as he was now being dubbed, then beat two top-10 players to reach the second Masters final of his career in Madrid, and he reached the semis of the US Open with a stunning run through Tomas Berdych and Murray to lose another five-set classic to Djokovic.
By the end of the year, Wawrinka was in his first World Tour Finals, and launched 2014 with that first Grand Slam—this time beating Djokovic, Berdych and Nadal. And with it, he took the lead over Federer in the rankings for the first time.
So he comes to Rome with three titles from his six tournaments, to the place where he reached his first Masters final, with a 6-0 win-loss record over top-10 players, and with every expectation of making another big splash.
I am happy with my level, and I am confident with myself
Stanislas Wawrinka
And in talking of the clay, his confidence broke through again—asked if he felt it was his favourite surface, even though some of his best results have come on hard courts:
“In the past it was my best surface, because that’s where I got all the results. I grew up on clay, and until I was 20 years old, I was playing only clay tournaments. Now it’s a little bit difference: You have to play [well] on hard courts. I think my level is good on hard court and clay court. I just think on the clay court there are fewer players I am scared to play with: I feel I have more control against the top guys.”
And he knows he can play well here:
“Here, it’s a great tournament on clay: Normally I can play well here. I like the conditions. I’ve been practising since Thursday, I am happy with my level, and I am confident with myself.”
Here, then, is a man whose physical peak, mental maturity and tennis experience have delivered the best results of his career, and he believes there is more to come, that he can still improve.
He has learned to manage his schedule:
“The season is very long, and if you don’t have a good schedule, sooner or later you’ll have injuries. That’s why since many years I am not playing all the tournaments, trying to take some weeks off for practice, and that’s paying off now, and why I am so strong this year.”
But he remains modest enough to believe he can still learn from his esteemed colleagues. He had a long training session with Djokovic that was packed by fans cheering on some highly competitive practice games. Did he use such sessions to fine-tune his own game or to learn more about his opponent?
“For me, it’s always really interesting to play with the top guys. I always try to focus first on mine, to try and improve everything, but I always look at them. I think you can always learn so much from the top guys—Rafa and Roger and Novak. They are doing things that we don’t.
“If you look well, it’s important not to copy them but see what you can take from them, and for sure it’s always really good for me to practise with Nole.”
Wawrinka opens his Rome campaign against qualifier Spaniard, Pere Riba, who won his last tour-level match two years ago. That should pose no problem at all to the Swiss.
The real measure of his standing may not come until the weekend, assuming he advances to his allotted semi-final place, for there, he would be attempting to beat the Master of Rome—Nadal—on clay for the first time.