"We cannot compare Rafael Nadal with other players, he's proved he's able to do things throughout his career that others can't" - Stan Wawrinka

Stan Wawrinka believes Rafael Nadal is in a league of his own when it comes to bouncing back from adversity.

Rafael Nadal won the 2022 Australian Open in stunning fashion, a few months after pondering retirement due to a chronic foot problem. The injury kept him out of action for several months, following which he tested positive for COVID-19 weeks ahead of the Melbourne Slam.

Bouncing back has been a prominent feature of Nadal's career, a detail Stan Wawrinka highlighted while speaking on L'Equipe's Air Open podcast.

"Whatever happens we cannot compare Nadal with other tennis players, that's for sure," Wawrinka said. "Nadal has been out for four, five or six months almost every two years of his career, and whether the injuries were serious or not, he always managed to come back. And once again at this stage and level, with the difficult last year that he had, of course, it’s exceptional, just like all his career."

Wawrinka claimed that Rafael Nadal's Australian Open win did not surprise him, as he was fully aware of the Spaniard's extraordinary abilities.

"It was brilliant to watch his win," Wawrinka added. "I wasn't surprised but I admire that he is still able to do it and as I say I am not surprised because we know that he is well above everyone else. He's proved that he's able to do things throughout his career that others can't."

"Everything is written" - Stan Wawrinka on Rafael Nadal's Australian Open triumph

During the podcast, Stan Wawrinka revealed that he and his coach Dani Vallverdu predicted Rafael Nadal would win the Australian Open even before the start of the tournament.

“Sometimes, I feel, tennis is all written in advance," Stan Wawrinka said. "Before Australian Open I was talking to my coach, Dani [Vallverdu] and we discussed that Nadal will win Australian Open, because everything is written."

Continuing to lavish praise on the 21-time Major champion's feat, Wawrinka drew parallels between Nadal's triumph and Roger Federer's Australian Open win in 2017, when the Swiss made a successful comeback from injury to lift the trophy.

“We saw what happened to Nadal last year, a year full of injuries and it would have been impossible to say he will win Australian Open last year," the Swiss added. "But his win is a bit similar to that Federer’s in 2017 and he has written history.”