Three time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka has spoken out on his complicated relationship with the Geneva Open ahead of his second round match.
The world number 25 didn’t receive any appearance fee for playing the Geneva Open in his home country which is weird considering he is the main attraction at this year’s tournaments. There was also a wildcard for the tournament for Lyon available, which did include an appearance fee however Wawrinka has defended his decision in a recent interview, “I will be clear. I got a big financial offer from Lyon. I refused. Because it was more important for me to play in front of my crowd. I am here for the crowd and the volunteers, who have been fantastic with me the years before. It’s a shame that I didn’t find an agreement.”
Despite playing in his tournament, his relationship with the tournament isn’t the best and is still very complicated, ” I felt since the beginning I wasn’t well welcomed, But the most important thing for me was to play in Switzerland. I understand that for the public it’s complicated to read that I didn’t sign a contract due to financial reasons. But in a negotiation, all parties need to be satisfied. No one works for free. I know what happened in the discussion.”
However the former number three is fully focused on the tournament as he looks to prepare for the second grand slam of the year and has taken the positives from his first round exit in Rome last week, “There were a lot of positives to take from this loss. My game level and my body are good. I am not far away. I know that it can happen very early, although I realise that I could wait. Every match, every shot, every positive detail allow me to go far. But I am focused on my first match.”
Wawrinka will play his first match on Tuesday evening when he takes on Jared Donaldson.
