Dani Vallverdu believes that three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka has the motivation to play at a high level.
Wawrinka was hindered by injury problems in 2018 and 2019, but he made an encouraging return to form in 2019, when he reached two finals in Rotterdam and Antwerp finishing runner-up to Gael Monfils and Andy Murray respectively. Stan upset Novak Djokovic in the fourth round at the US Open for his fifth win in the last six Grand Slam matches against World number 1 players. The Swiss player advanced to Roland Garros quarter final or better for the fifth time after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 8-6 in the fifth set after a 5-hour and 9-minute marathon match.
This year Wawrinka beat Andreas Seppi and Danil Medvedev in five sets to reach the Australian Open quarter final or better for the fifth time. He also advanced to Doha semifinal and capulco quarter final. The Lausanne player lost to Lorenzo Musetti in the Rome Masters 1000 first round and to Hugo Gaston in the third round at Roland Garros.
Dani Vallverdu, who has been training Wawrinka since 2019, thinks that Stan has the experience to make a last push.
“Once the tour had a little bit more of structure and we knew that tournaments were going to happen Stan found the motivation again and we were able to practise with a goal and objectives in front of us. The last few events of the year were very encouraging. He is now ready to go through this training block in December, and hopefully have a full season next year. The hunger is definitely there and he wants to make a last push now at the end of his career. The goals are not just to win tournaments, but to feel like he is competitive at a high level. It would be unrealistic to say that the goals are to win a Grand Slam. Whether it can happen or not ? With his potential and experience he feels if he is competitive against the guys that are at the top, he is always going to have a chance to achieve big results”, said Dani Vallverdu.
