Stan Wawrinka reveals his dream player

09/14/2024 06:00 AM

Stan Wawrinka has had an excellent career, in which he reached peaks that allowed him to defeat even legends of the caliber of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The Swiss has won three Grand Slam titles, defeating Nadal in the final of the 2014 Australian Open and Djokovic in the finals of the 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open.

'Stanimal' also won the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo in 2014, beating his illustrious compatriot Federer after losing the first set. Unlike Andy Murray - who has won three Majors - Wawrinka was less continuous at very high levels and is for this reason that it is considered inferior to the former Scottish champion.

The Swiss veteran has had a lot of physical problems in recent years, especially to his knee, but he does not want to give up and continues to practice every day to end his career on his terms. Stan hasn’t been doing well lately and many believe his retirement may be near.

Wawrinka also won the gold medal in doubles with Federer at Beijing 2008 and was instrumental in Switzerland’s triumph in the 2014 Davis Cup. Due to a Roger not at his best for a back injury, Stan played a crucial role in pulling his country into a truly memorable victory.

Stanimal’s career could have been even more glorious if he hadn’t played in the same era as the Big 3. Recently, Stan Wawrinka was asked to build his perfect player. The video with the answers of the three-time Slam champion has also been published on the official Instagram profile of the Swiss tennis player. Many categories for which the opinion of Wawrinka has been sought, many mentions for Roger Federer, his compatriot, and for Novak Djokovic. But there are also other quotes such as one for Milos Raonic and there is a very particular one for Nick Kyrgios.

The perfect player according to Stan, one of the very few players who managed to win Slam in the Big 3 era, must have these characteristics. For the service Wawrinka has indicated Milos Raonic. For the answer his vote went to Novak Djokovic. The Serbian is the favorite of the Swiss ace also in terms of tactics. For mentality, however, the vote of the Swiss is for Rafael Nadal.

For the forehand Stanimal indicates his compatriot Roger Federer, for the backhand the choice is for Novak Djokovic while it is again Federer the favorite both for the "slice" and for the volleys. Wawrinka was asked who would choose as the next "trash-talker", that is, who talks, provokes and complains more in the field and in this category his vote went to Nick Kyrgios. The former Top 10 left unanswered the last question, that is not expressed on the best athlete: "I can’t answer this question", were his words.

Despite the many difficulties of recent years, the three-time Grand Slam champion feels he can still do something in professional tennis: “There are always goals. I think as an athlete it’s important to set yourself some goals. I also know that of course, the goals I had 10 years ago are not the same now, especially after so many injuries and surgeries the last few years. I’ve been on tour for 20 years and of course when I get to 39 years old and I’m 80 in the world, for sure people will ask me the question and I have no problem with that. It’s just the way I want to answer it and the way I want to prove that I still want to be there.

At the end of the day, I decide what I’m going to do with my tennis career. And as much as I enjoy what I’m doing, I’m passionate about that, I still feel competitive to play some big matches and to win some good matches, I want to keep going because it’s a chance to be still playing at that level.”

Stan has a huge passion for tennis, although he will hardly be able to increase his palmarés with other prestigious titles. An era in men’s tennis is coming to a close. Roger Federer retired in 2022, Andy Murray said goodbye to the tour at the Paris Olympics and Rafa Nadal seems very close to retirement.

Djokovic is the only veteran who is still competitive at high levels, even though the Serbian legend has not won a single Major this year for the first time since 2017. The 24-time Grand Slam champion won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, fulfilling one of his career’s greatest dreams.