Stan Wawrinka’s Improbable Championship Career May Have One Last Chapter.
For much of Stan Wawrinka’s tennis career, an easy way to point him out to the casual fan of the sport would be to designate him as “the other Swiss player.” The vast majority of Wawrinka’s career has been spent in the shadow of his countryman Roger Federer, arguably the greatest to ever play the sport; the two share not only a nationality but also silky smooth (though distinctly styled) one handed backhands. Before 2014, Wawrinka had only reached one Grand Slam semifinal in his career, and indeed his career’s greatest triumph had only come as part of a team with Federer, when the two of them won Switzerland a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. But over the next three years, the other Swiss would improbably come to make his own mark on the sport, and this year’s Australian Open could be the most improbable part of that story yet.
Before the 2014 Australian Open, Wawrinka was considered a talented but inconsistent underachiever, capable of beating even the best players in the world on a given day, but incapable of stringing together enough strong performances to ever win a Slam. At that tournament Wawrinka proved them wrong- in the quarterfinals he stunned defending champion Novak Djokovic in five sets, then dispatched perennial top 10 fixture Tomas Berdych in the semifinals. He was a massive underdog in the final against world no.1 Rafael Nadal, who held a record of 12–0 against Wawrinka in head to head matchups. But on that day, Wawrinka would become Rafa’s kryptonite, defeating the Spaniard in four sets. For the first time, he was a Grand Slam champion.
Over the next two years, Wawrinka would prove that this run was no fluke, as he would go on to win the French Open in 2015 and the US Open in 2016. And these were no wins thanks to the luck of the draw giving him easier opponents either; at Roland Garros Wawrinka defeated his countryman Federer and then Djokovic again to claim the title, and at the Open his path to the title went through former champion Juan Martin Del Potro, Kei Nishikori, and Djokovic.
Stan’s transformation from undrachiever to champion is in many ways an inspiration to everyday recreational players who hope to continue to improve their games even as adults. Wawrinka’s backhand was always his signature shot, a devastating one hander capable of producing spectacular winners from seemingly any angle and court position. Even as far back as 2009 John McEnroe referred to Wawrinka’s backhand as the best in tennis. But Wawrinka made the difference by diligently working to improve the rest of his game around the backhand- his forehand went from unreliable and inconsistent to nearly as punishing as his backhand, and his serve became capable of producing bombs of over 130 mph consistently.
As he won slams, Wawrinka became semi-famous for his “dad bod” physique, atypical of a top athlete. However, appearances were deceptive- his improved conditioning post-2014 enabled him to outlast the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer in slams whereas before he had never beaten one of them in a five setter before then. But ultimately, this did not prevent a catastrophic injury from derailing Wawrinka’s career.
At the Wimbledon tournament of 2017, it was first speculated that Wawrinka had sustained a knee injury during his first round loss to young, up and coming Russian Daniil Medvedev. This was confirmed shortly thereafter, and in August of that year Wawrinka underwent surgery for the injury, taking him out of contention for the rest of the year. Although he returned at the 2018 Australian Open, he was very clearly a shadow of his former self, crashing out in the second round to American journeyman Tennys Sandgren. With such a harsh injury in his past and with his thirty-third birthday fast approaching, it was an open question whether he would ever recapture his previous Grand Slam champion form.
However, the story of Stan’s 2019 was a slow climb back towards his former position at the top of the ATP rankings. At the US Open, he once again defeated Djokovic (thanks to an injury retirement) to reach the quarterfinals, only to come up against Medvedev once again. The difference in age between the two of them showed, as Wawrinka looked totally overmatched for most of the contest against the young Russian, losing in four sets but never feeling as if he really had a chance. Nevertheless, he entered the 2020 Australian Open as the fifteenth seed, making it to the fourth round for yet another rematch with Medvedev, one where he would be a distinct underdog.
Watching the match, it seemed as if for the first time Wawrinka was fully back to his top form. He matched the Russian shot for shot, his groundstrokes restored to their power and weight of old. Most impressively, he displayed greater endurance than the twenty three year old in the fifth set, taking it 6–2. Stan has made two Grand slam quarterfinals before since his comeback, but this time it feels different. His upcoming contest against Alexander Zverev feels winnable, and should he prevail he will be back in the top 10 for the first time since his injury in 2017.
It would have been very easy for Stan Wawrinka to bring his professional tennis career to a close after his 2017 injury. He had already made $30 million in prize money, and there was little to no guarantee of him ever reaching championship form again. But his career so far has always been about dedication to improvement no matter how long it may take, and with that in mind there was no chance that he would give up so easily.
On a personal note, whenever I watch Wawrinka highlights before a tennis match, my strokes always seem to improve more than even watching the likes of Federer. This is because Wawrinka’s particular path to tennis stardom- blooming late, steadily working away to improve in all facets despite adversity- is one that is relatable to tennis players of all ages and levels. I hope he continues to produce inspiring results for years to come.
