Stan Wawrinka has labelled the Rio Olympic Games as one of his main priorities in 2016 during an interview with Swiss website 24 Heures.
The 30-year-old recently became the second male tennis player in history to claim the Swiss Sports Personality of the Year award, beating Roger Federer to the title. This year on the tour Wawrinka has claimed the French Open trophy as well as three titles on the ATP Tour. Looking ahead to 2016, the 30-year-old has spoken about one particular event that he is looking forward to.
“I have many goals because the next year is rich in major events. I think of the Olympics, an event that only takes place every four years. I look forward to experience it again, to find myself in the heart of the Olympic Village.” The world No.5 said.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics Wawrinka teamed up with Federer to claim a gold medal in the men’s doubles. At the event the Swiss pair stunned top seeds Mike and Bob Bryan in the semi-finals. Despite the doubles success, Wawrinka has endured disappointment in the singles draw with a second, followed by a first round loss at the two previous Olympic Games.
The world No.4 is currently unsure about what events he will play at the 2016 Olympics. Martina Hingis has recently been confirmed for the mixed doubles alongside Roger Federer. Wawrinka revealed that he was also in contention to partner Hingis, but decided to ‘leave the choice to Federer‘.
“I am still unclear whether I will play singles, doubles and mixed doubles or if I will limit myself to only one draw in Rio. I want things to be fixed no later than early in the year as several parameters are involved. This will include being healthy”. He said.
Despite Hingis being taken, Wawrinka still has two top 20 singles players he could play with in the mixed doubles, Belinda Bencic and Timea Bacsinszky.
Besides his Olympic plans, Wawrinka also briefly spoke about the Davis Cup. In 2014 he was part of the team which claimed Switzerland’s first ever Davis Cup title. Despite admitting that he finds it tough to fit the Davis Cup around his schedule, he has stated that he will return to Davis Cup competition. Depending on Switzerland’s early results, the world No.5 has hinted that he could return to the event in September.
