Stan Wawrinka is a player that has the ability to shine on the biggest stages in the world of tennis. It is a quality that few have, but even the Swiss player has admitted that he is a long way from becoming the best player in the world.
This season has seen Wawrinka clinch a trio of ATP titles in Chennai, Dubai and Geneva during what has been a mainly successful season. His biggest achievement occurred in September when he downed Novak Djokovic to win the US Open, the third grand slam title of his career. It is evident that the 31-year-old from Lausanne is a force in the men’s game, but Wawrinka himself has admitted that his ability to rise to the top is currently unlikely.
“I don’t think so. Right now I’m 31, I’m number three, in the top four for the last three years, so it’s already something really special,’ said Wawrinka in an interview with Sky Sports.
“I know I can beat every player, I need to do it more often in the year if I want to think about that, but so far I’m way off that.”
Wawrinka’s honesty is supported by the contrasting results he has produced this season. Besides his triumph at the four tournaments, the Swiss player has failed to grab back-to-back wins at nine tournaments this year. It is a pattern that has featured throughout Wawrinka’s career and the patchy play is certainly something that the Swiss player would love to eradicate. Nevertheless, his rivals are still aware of the threat he poses.
“Stan is a big match player,” Djokovic recently said. “He loves to play on the big stage against big players, because that’s when he elevates his level of performance in his game. He just gets much better.”
The inconsistency struggles of Wawrinka is something currently of no concern for new world No.1 Andy Murray. The Brit approaches his final tournament of the year with a 18-match winning streak to his name on the ATP Tour (not counting walkovers). It is an achievement that has been praised by his Swiss rival.
“The ranking never lies. He’s been winning a lot this year, more than any other player, so he deserves to be No 1.” Said Wawrinka.
This year will be Wawrinka’s fourth consecutive appearance in the ATP Finals. Yet to be knocked out before the semifinal stage, the US Open champion will face Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic in the John Mcenroe Group.
