Stan Wawrinka: an unlikely story of triumph

Stan Wawrinka poses with the French Open title

In Federer’s shadow for better part of a decade

Stan Wawrinka’s career in tennis can best be termed as an aberration. Before the final yesterday, there were sporadic mentions of his 2003 juniors triumph at Roland Garros and how even then, he looked like a promising tennis player.

10 years later, as he played defending champion Novak Djokovic in the fourth round of the Australian Open, one would have felt that he, like a lot of players on the ATP circuit had never been able to do justice to the talent he was blessed with. To be fair to him, when you share your nationality with Roger Federer who has managed to dominate the better half of a decade that you played most of your tennis in, it’s easy to comprehend how a player of his abilities can still manage to be totally eclipsed under a shadow.

Wawrinka could easily have been the Rubens Barrichello of tennis and shared the same fate as he did with Michael Schumacher as his Ferrari teammate. And for a long time, it looked like he would; until that night, under lights at the Rod Laver Arena. Anybody who saw that match would have been stunned by the level of Stan’s tennis in the first set, most of all, the defending champion who looked shell shocked at what was coming from the other side of the net.

Djokovic who by that time at already gained the reputation of being one of the best defenders in the game was getting demolished till the better part of the second set was over. Realising that the game was slipping away, the champion somehow managed to raise his game to take the set 7-5 and eventually the match in five sets, but the fearless hitting and strength of character that Stan showed during that match was surely a sign of better things to come from him.

Stan living up to his potential

Cut to 2014 and he faced the same guy, this time in the semi final. The old Stan would have surely crumbled under the pressure of the occasion and the opponent. After all, what could he do that he had not done a year before. But not this Stan, not this time. Even after losing the first set unlike the previous year, he managed to come from behind and take out the defending champion in five sets.

Djokovic did kind of give away right there at the end, but that doesn’t take away anything from the determined quality of his play all through the match. If there were nerves, he didn’t know any; much like the final in which he played a below par Nadal, but managed to keep his composure and win his maiden Grand Slam in four; a first major at 29.

The rest of the year was a bit of a mixed bag with a win over Federer at Monte Carlo, an early exit at Roland Garros and back to back losses against Federer again at Wimbledon and the year end championships. The one thing that was consistent in his style of play was the fearless aggression from the back of the court and winning points with powerful ground strokes. It was clear that he had finally found his recipe of winning big matches against big players. Stan Wawrinka, most definitely was now in the big league.

Consistent at the majors

He came pretty close to defending his Australian Open title in 2015, bowing out to Djokovic in five sets in the semi final. The final set was a bit of a letdown with Djokovic running away with the match fairly quickly, but again like the previous two occasions, it went to five sets. With the clay season coming to its business end, Wawrinka found his touch in Rome where he beat Nadal in straight sets before losing to countryman Federer in the semi finals. This interestingly was his third straight loss to Federer since beating him at Monte Carlo last year.

He came into the French Open with some good form and found himself positioned against Federer again after taking out the wily Frenchman Gilles Simon in front of the French crowd in straight sets. Federer came into the match as an undeniable favourite and left the court humbled and comprehensively beaten. The array of shots and the quality of the first serve left Federer with very little options. It was as imposing a defeat as anybody had ever inflicted on the 17-time Grand Slam champion.

While the jury was still out on what Roger could have done differently to stay competitive in that match, Stan took his campaign further against Tsonga and the French crowd in the semis. Now these are the things that often form the difference between a major or almost a major and the way Stan managed the crowd and held on to his routine of ruthless hitting to win in four sets was simply outstanding. But the biggest test was yet to come.

Outplayed Djokovic in his second Grand Slam final

Novak Djokovic, on a 28 match winning streak having won almost every tournament he’s played this year, trying to complete a career Grand Slam and possibly a Calendar Slam riding on recent victories over Nadal and Murray was an almost impossible story to contend with.

Even before the match started, whatever had been said about Djokovic and the daunting task at hand for Stan, in hindsight had exactly the kind of effect he would have wanted. He knew what he had to do to change the script that had been laid before him and he did just that, but for that break early that cost him the first set. He carried his form from the previous two matches and even with Djokovic’s superhuman retrieval abilities, he was being visibly bullied around for the better part of the match.

Yes, Novak Djokovic was looking at winners flying around him and stared on more than one occasion to his camp for answers. Sadly for him, they had none on this day when Stan showed utmost composure on big points and used his power to hit Novak off court.

Wawrinka was a deserving champion at the end, his weathered face complementing the strength of character that he now possesses. In fact, that was probably the only ingredient missing in his art, something of a rite of passage every champion has to make before they can soar exceptional heights. There is no shadow anymore, no doubts.

There is just Stan and his unflinching courage and strong belief even in the face of the utmost adversity. With the current form and the level of confidence, maybe a different career slam is on the cards now with the last two majors coming up. Fingers crossed.