What a difference 12 months can make for some players and for Stan Wawrinka he finds himself far away from his heights in 2017.
Last year at the French Open, the three-time grand slam champion was closing in on the world No.2 spot. Roaring his way to the final with the help of his blistering backhand that has attracted an army of fans. The only person to stop him was the king of clay, Rafael Nadal, who prevailed in the final to claim an historic 10th title at the tournament.
Since that achievement, Wawrinka’s offensive on the tour has been hampered. A knee injury resulted in surgery and forced him to miss five months of the tour. Since returning in January, he had only featured in six tournaments prior to this week.
Wawrinka kicked off his latest campaign at the French Open on Monday, but bowed out in five sets to Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Losing 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, to the world No.67.
“It’s disappointing to lose a match when you’re so close to winning.” Said Wawrinka. “I knew I could win; my physical and mental level is almost there. I was very close today.”
“Nevertheless, at the same time, I haven’t played a match to the best-of-five sets in one year. So even when you’re practicing, you can’t play with that pressure.”
The repercussions of his defeat at Roland Garros may have an impact for months to come. Wawrinka will now drop outside of the top 200 after failing to defend his points won at the event last year. It will be a position that he hasn’t been in since he was 18 back in 2003.
For a guy known to play his best tennis on the biggest stages of the sport, Wawrinka remains undeterred about his future decline down the rankings. Already focusing on what he needs to do to return back to the top.
“You start to win matches. Simple as that.” He stated. “You practice well and you get your level back and you win matches, and in a few months you’re back up to your level if you play well. That’s as simple as that.”
“When you’re out on the tour because of injury, for sure your ranking will drop no matter what, because you didn’t play. But for me, that’s not the most important.”
The upbeat mentality of the Swiss player comes ahead of what could be a testing time for him. His period of using the protected ranking system will expire. Meaning that he will need to rely on either wildcards or play in qualifying to feature in the main draws of ATP events. The only exception in Wimbledon, where their entry list has already been established with Wawrinka in the field.
“For sure, I’m going to require some wildcards. But again, if I have to play some challenger (tournaments), I have no problem with that.” He said.
“I know exactly where I want to be. I won three Grand Slams in my career and I know what it takes to do it. My goal is to get to my top. Sooner or later I will be.”
There is a silver lining for the 33-year-old. His pesky knee is no longer an issue bothering him on the court. Allowing Wawrinka to fully focus on regaining his form on the tour.
“Today I lost … but at the end of the day, if I look at my level, I’m closer to where I want to be than (what) the ranking (says),” he concludes.
“I knew that following the surgery, it will take at least a year to get where I want to be.
“I’m on the right way. I’m playing well. The knee is keeping up and physically I am (feeling) stronger every day. So I need to keep pushing myself to get where I want to be. I was very close today.”
So far this season, Wawrinka has only won four out of 10 matches played on the tour.
