7 greatest Swiss tennis players of all-time

#3 Stanislas Wawrinka

Stan Wawrinka at the 2016 US Open

'Stan The Man' or 'Stanimal' as he is commonly referred to, Stanislas Wawrinka has earned a reputation of being a giant killer of sorts over the years.

Despite having turned pro in 2002, Wawrinka made it big only in 2008 reaching the final of the Rome Masters losing to Djokovic in the final. The same year, he won the Gold Medal in Doubles at the Beijing Olympic Games along with Roger Federer. He broke into the Top-10 that year which was followed by a slump in form resulting in him dropping out of the Top-10.

2013 was the year of his re-emergence as a force to reckon with. At the Australian Open 4th round of that year, he was part of one of the greatest ever matches played at the Rod Laver Arena. He lost in the 22nd game of the fifth set in a match that lasted over 5 hours. His win at the Portugal Open was his first since 2011.

In 2014, he remarkably beat Rafael Nadal in the finals of the Australian Open - his first win over Nadal in 13 attempts.

His greatest win came at the 2015 French Open final. He lost the first set to Djokovic and won the next 3 sets to prevent Djokovic from making a sweep of the Grand Slams that year also preventing him from winning the Career Slam. His last Grand Slam came at the 2016 US Open where he again got the better off Novak Djokovic in the final.

Persistent knee injuries have dogged his campaign in 2018 and Wawrinka has slipped out of the Top-50 and will look to quickly make amends in the 2019 season.