FRENCH OPEN – Stan is just too tough.The shorts. The striped shirt. The bearded look. The court demeanor. The carefree look. The pure power in every aspect of his game: one-handed backhand, awesome serve, brute-force forehand. He even beat Novak Djokovic at his own game. He smothered Djokovic’s cute drop shots. He “pushed” just like Novak until it came time to win the point. He practically lived at break point against Novak’s serve. James Beck
STAN IS THE MAN
Stan who? Wawrinka! He’s no longer Roger Federer’s understudy. He’s the man, Stan The Man. He’s the most dangerous player in men’s tennis. Forget about a calendar Grand Slam for Novak. No career Slam either, at least for now. Even No. 1 may be in danger sooner than expected.
MEN’S TENNIS JUST GOT LESS PREDICTABLE
The ATP Tour just got a little less predictable on Sunday with Wawrinka’s 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 domination of Djokovic in the French Open final. And that’s not even considering that Rafa Nadal may still have something to say about the immediate future of the men’s game. Don’t rule out Rafa making a difference, even as early as Wimbledon. He might have beaten Djokovic, too, if he hadn’t taken his foot off of the pedal when he fought back to 4-4 in that first set of their French quarterfinal. But Wawrinka showed Djokovic that two can play the rope-a-dope game, better known as pushing until an opening comes along.
WAWRINKA BEAT NOVAK AT HIS OWN GAME
Why waste all of those big shots just to see the ball come back from Djokovic? But 50 winners! The TV analysts couldn’t stop talking about Stan’s one-handed backhand. Only 11 of those winners were backhands. This one was almost too easy for Wawrinka. John McEnroe and crew kept saying how quickly Djokovic was going to wear out Stan. But it was the other way around. Stan was just too tough, physically and mentally for Novak.
ONE-HANDED BACKHAND KEPT STAN FRESH
Perhaps, it really was the one-handed backhand that did Djokovic in. Why do you think Wawrinka never showed any true weariness? The TV guys’ assertion that Djokovic was working on Stan’s legs was just TV chatter. While Djokovic spent so much energy running around backhands, Stan just simply nailed backhands. Forget what the TV odometer registered. It obviously wasn’t programmed for one-handed backhanders. Stan showed frustration only once when a drop shot return failed to carry the net. He banged the net a couple of times. Otherwise, he was all business, except the time he smiled while chatting up close with the chair umpire about a line call that the umpire ruled missed the sideline by a fraction of an inch.
That was Stan The Man, looking so pleasant and smiling within himself after having the point taken away that could have tied the ninth game of the first set at 30-all, but instead gave Djokovic double set point. Djokovic won the set a few points later, while Wawrinka won the match as well as the heart of probably millions of viewers across the globe.
THIS JUST DIDN’T HAPPEN ON SUNDAY
Of course, this didn’t just happen on Sunday. It started at the 2013 U.S. Open when Wawrinka practically hit Djokovic off the court before losing in five sets in the semifinals. Sitting in Arthur Ashe Stadium that day, I was suddenly convinced that Stan was the player no one would want to play in the future. He could win Grand Slams, even maybe challenge for the best player in the game. Before then, I just considered Wawrinka to be wins for the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer. Stan continued to achieve his potential the following January by winning the Australian Open, sending Djokovic packing in a five-set quarterfinal. He crushed Rafa on clay a few weeks ago in Rome, and then Roger Federer in Paris.
Now wearing the always elusive French crown, Wawrinka may soon be contending for a career Grand Slam himself.
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James Beck is the long-time tennis columnist for the Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier newspaper. He can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com
See James Beck’s Post and Courier columns at: http://web.charleston.net/news/columnists/james_beck/
