Being Stanislas Wawrinka

More often than not the fate of a Grand Slam rests not with the player but other exogenous factors. And so it proved in this year’s Australian Open finals. Rafael Nadal, suffering from a back injury was shadow of himself and so Stanislas Wawrinka won. This is what most sports “pundits” will lead you to believe and therein lies the fallacy. The hints of a good player were there to be seen last year, he nearly beat Novak Djokovic at the same tournament (remember the 10-12 final set) and then pulled off a stunning win over Andy Murray in the US Open quarter-finals.
Let’s face the facts here and see how exactly Wawrinka did reach the finals. His opponents were Andrey Golubev, Allejandro Falla, Tomy Robredo, Novak Djokovic, Thomas Berdych and finally Nadal. By no stretch of imagination is it an easy draw. If a player beats the likes of Djokovic and Berdych en- route to the finals then that player has earned his right to be there. Up until the finals it was his tennis that got him through. His mix of ground shots and movement was something that even the legendary Pete Sampras took note of, "Wawrinka was moving well, wasn’t nervous and was pretty relaxed. He had a great rhythm and was hitting his backhand so smoothly” he remarked. To put the final into perspective in the first set he was imperious. And Nadal had no answers to that. Then came the injury break during which he looked a little perturbed but he held onto his nerves and took the set. The only contention from a Nadal fans (of which I am one) comes from fact that the Nadal was injured from the second set onwards. However having said this I believe keeping a top physical condition throughout is the duty of the athlete, be it dietary changes or spending time to heal oneself, the onus completely lies with the player. This is where I believe the match was decided. Simply put, Wawrinka was better prepared for the match.
Another off court issue which Wawrinka faces is the presence of Roger Federer on the tour. He will never be the “Swiss master”. To be fair there is nothing he can do about it. Federer is considered by many as the greatest player of all times, let alone this era. His single-handed backhand is a thing of beauty. His off the court mannerism exemplary. And it would be foolish of him to think that he will challenge for it anytime soon. He is already 28, the age by which Roger had a double digit count of grand slams titles. However, the can do the best he can and believe me he can do a lot. He already has a mental edge over Djokovic, Murray and now Nadal. This is no mean feat. With the great Swiss in the twilight of his career he will face challenges from the above mentioned player and he can do some serious damage to them in major tournaments.

To put in a final word, he will the Andre Agassi of Switzerland. This again, is no mean feat.