Experiencing a tough day at the office with a comprehensive defeat to Rafael Nadal at the French Open, Stan Wawrinka believes his downfall was due to the power of his mind.
Participating in his fourth grand slam final, the Swiss 32-year-old managed to win only six games against a flawless Nadal. It was the most one-sided men’s French Open final since Nadal dropped just four games against Roger Federer in 2008. The loss has brought to an end Wawrinka’s 100% winning record in grand slam finals.
“I think from the beginning from my side, I didn’t play my best tennis. I think I was a little bit hesitating with my selection of shots.” A reflective Wawrinka said during his press conference.
Trying to pinpoint the reason behind his performance, which featured 29 unforced errors, Wawrinka dismissed suggestions about his physical capability. On route to the final, he played an extra five hours of matches compared to his Spanish rival. Furthermore, he also won the Geneva Open that took place a week before the start of Roland Garros.
Whilst the world No.3 is upbeat about his current fitness, he is less optimistic about his mental toughness. Admitting that he struggled to focus playing Nadal on the clay, who has only ever lost two matches at the tournament, Wawrinka believes it deprived him of his best tennis.
“I think today, if you play Rafa, if you’re not completely free with what you think and what you’re gonna do and not completely relaxed the way you’re gonna play, you have no chance.” He said.
“That’s what happened today.”
Regardless of the mental blip, it is uncertain if a fully concentrated Wawrinka would have been able to tame Nadal’s surge this year. The Spaniard now has a win-loss of 43-6 this season and is the first player on the ATP World Tour to win four titles. As a result, Nadal will now rise up to second in the world, his highest position since October 2014.
“For sure he’s playing the best he’s ever played. That’s for sure. But not only here. I think since the beginning of the year, you can see he’s playing more aggressive, staying more close from the line. But that’s clearly his best he ever play. That’s why he’s winning so much again.”
A silver lining
Looking at the bigger picture, there is still a reason to celebrate for Wawrinka and his camp. Earlier in the tournament he produced back-to-back wins over top-10 players Marin Cilic and Andy Murray. Wawrinka’s win over Murray was his fourth victory over a current world No.1 player.
The run comes after a disappointing start to the clay this year. At tournaments in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome, the Swiss No.1 could only win two matches. Now he has won ten out of 11 matches at his two more recent tournaments (Geneva and Paris).
“There are many, many, many good things.” Wawrinka stated. “Two weeks or three weeks ago I was really down, not winning matches in Masters 1000, not playing my best tennis, a lot of doubt in my game when I was playing.
“In three weeks I won Geneva and made the final of a Grand Slam, so that’s big for me. That’s for sure.”
At the upcoming grass court swing of the tour the three-time grand slam champion will be guided by Paul Annacone, a former coach of Peter Sampras and Federer. Throughout his career, Wawrinka has only reached one tour final of the grass (Rosmalen 2013) and is yet to progress beyond the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, a task he has achieved at the three other majors.
“We (Wawrinka’s team) had some discussions in order to get a new vision, to get another view of my game. So that’s why we have decided to turn to Paul, who has a lot of experience, and I hope that I will be in the right direction.” He said about the new member of his team.
The first test of the new collaboration will occur at the Aegon Championships, which will start on June 19th.
