Walking onto the court with heavy taping around his left knee, Stan Wawrinka had a prime excuse for his disappointing straight sets loss to Kei Nishikori. It was an explanation that many expected to hear, but one the US Open champion refused to say.
Smashing 32 unforced errors and three double faults, Wawrinka’s first taste of the 2016 ATP Finals were one that he would rather forget. Tentatively hitting the ball and moving gingerly around the court, the Swiss player failed to reproduce the standard of play that has taken him to four titles this season, including the US Open.
“It was not a great match compared to what I can do, that’s for sure. (It) wasn’t a great day for myself.” Said Wawrinka.
“I don’t think I found anything on the court today. I was a little bit slow on everything. I was hesitating a lot with my game, my move.”
The honest, but accurate assessment of his performance has failed to derail Wawrinka’s confidence levels. Ironically, he admitted that over the past two days he has been ‘feeling better’ on the court. Whilst the signs are encouraging for the Wawrinka camp, there are still unanswered questions about what exactly went wrong for him on Monday afternoon.
“I was feeling better on the court, so I thought I could play at a better level today. I was expecting a good match. It didn’t happen today.” The three-time grand slam champion acknowledged.
Clearly baffled by his latest display, there is no time for the 31-year-old to drown his sorrows. Still in the mix for ending the year as world No.3 (along with Nishikori and Milos Raonic), the man known by many as ‘Stanimal’ due to his stamina is eager to end his season in jubilation.
“I’m sure I still have something inside me to play some great tennis before the end of the year, so I’m going to try everything for that in the next match. I’m going to do what I need to do tomorrow to get ready for trying to play better in two days.” He declared.
Moments after the 2016 US Open final Novak Djokovic said he ‘is the player he is now’ due to Wawrinka. It is evident that the Swiss athlete has the ability to influence his rivals on the tour. As to if he can have any influence in London this week, that remains to be seen. Wawrinka certainly has the mindset to do so, but it is unclear if his body will hold up at the end of a long season.
