Two-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka is determined to make up for his previous grass-court woes at the upcoming Wimbledon championships.
The Swiss world No. 5 has triumphed on numerous occasions on the ATP Tour, however, on the grass it is a different story. At the age of 31, he has only reached one final on the grass (s-Hertogenbosch 2013) and Wimbledon remains the only grand slam where he hasn’t reached the last four. His trend of grass-court disappointments continued this year when he suffered a recent first round exit to Fernando Verdasco at The Queen’s Club.
Tackling his form on the grass, Wawrinka has enlisted the help of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek this year. He is set to work with the former Dutch player until the end of the tournament at SW19. Despite having a former Wimbledon champion in his team, Wawrinka has declared that his confidence on the grass is already at its peak.
“That’s not something that change because one person coming in the team for three weeks,” He said.
“I think the last few years, I start to play my best tennis on grass. I know I can play my best game. Hopefully I can do something big this year.”
The Wawrinka-Krajicek partnership might have got off to a shaky start at the Aegon Championships, but the Swiss is relishing the work between the two.
“Few things in my game that we want to work on,” Wawrinka said about his plans with Krajicek.
“He brings his experience, a few things in the technique side. It’s really interesting to have someone like Richard.”
The early rounds at Wimbledon are set to be a duo of tough matches for Wawrinka. In the first round, he will play Taylor Fritz, a player who earlier this year became the youngest American finalist on the ATP Tour since Michael Chang in 1989. Then in the second round, he could play former Wimbledon semifinalist Juan Martin del Potro, who is playing in the tournament for the first time since 2013 after a troublesome wrist injury.
“He’s an amazing player. He won a Grand Slam few years ago,” Wawrinka said of del Potro.
“He’s going to be, for sure, dangerous. He played a great tournament in Stuttgart on grass. If he’s fit, he’s a tough player to beat, that’s for sure.”
Wawrinka is the fourth seed at Wimbledon and will be hoping to reach the semifinal stage for the first time in his career. Last year he reached the quarter-finals before losing to Richard Gasquet in a five-set epic.
If he surpasses expectations this year and reach the final, Wawrinka would become only the second Swiss player to reach a Wimbledon men’s final in the tournaments 130-year history. The first player was seven-time champion Roger Federer in 2003.
