Stan Wawrinka can boast three Slam titles on his wall, as well as being the last player capable of winning a Major outside of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic (the reference is to the US Open 2016). Only the Wimbledon trophy separates him from completing the Career Grand Slam, without forgetting that the Swiss was able to reach the third position of the ATP ranking.
Despite these numbers, one often gets the impression that the Lausanne veteran is not taken into consideration when opening the discussion about the biggest ever, reports Tennisworldusa.org. ‘Stanimal’ has had to deal with so many injuries in recent seasons, which led him to undergo knee surgery and a long rehabilitation process to get back to 100% fit.
Interviewed by ATP Tennis Radio, his coach Magnus Norman believes that Wawrinka is a little too underrated.
Norman on Stan Wawrinka
“Stan Wawrinka is one of the best players to ever play the game, if you look at his record, if you look at winning three Grand Slams, winning three different Grand Slams in the era where he had the Big Four playing,” Magnus Norman told ATP Tennis Radio.
“He’s a little bit underestimated for sure… He’s had an unbelievable career”. Wawrinka won his first Grand Slam in 2015 at the Australian Open and the following year he added the French Open before lifting the US Open in 2016.
“It’s been a little bit up and down. He doesn’t have the same stability as Andy Murray or Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, but in his best moments, I think he can beat all of those names on a very good day,” Norman continued.
“That’s what makes him a little bit special. Stan is a gambler. He plays with small margins. He’s the kind of guy that will put everything in red, do or die” – he concluded. Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic have played 25 times with Wawrinka trailing 6–19; however the two have contested numerous close matches and therefore it is considered a highly competitive rivalry since 2013.
Wawrinka and his compatriot Roger Federer have played each other 26 times with Wawrinka trailing 3–23. Federer leads 7–1 in Grand Slam tournaments, 17–0 on hard courts, 1–0 on grass courts and 4–3 on clay courts.
Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal have played 20 times with Wawrinka trailing 3–17 against Nadal. Although this rivalry has less significance than rivalries with the other members of the Big Four, the pair have met in several prestigious tournaments.
