Will Stan Wawrinka's success lie on the chance of the draw?
"I have the opportunity to play another match after tomorrow," Stan Wawrinka had said after his match with Ernest Gulbis at this year's Australian Open. It wasn't the outright win that propelled Wawrinka into the second round at Melbourne but Gulbis who had a flare-up of back injuries and had to retire. The Swiss had rallied and played a difficult opening set, losing 6-3. Gulbis played aggressively and was up 3-1 in the second but had to end on a winning situation. "...it's not the way you want to get through a match," Wawrinka said acceptingly.
There have been many battles to face throughout the ATP tour so far with Stan Wawrinka. It was some that he'd won like the Gulbis match and many that he's lost but for sure all was a challenge. After Gulbis' retirement, Wawrinka met up with Canada's Milos Raonic in the second round of the Australian Open. The match went to four sets with three tiebreaks leaving the Swiss suffering the loss. It was at Rotterdam that Wawrinka went deep and made it to the final through to three rounds not losing a set. Gael Monfils, in the end, had worked Wawrinka into a third set but it was the Swiss who lost again. The NextGen Denis Shapovalov was another opponent which Wawrinka handled well and won in straight sets. The Mexican Open was successful where he'd won over Steve Johnson and Ryan Harrison. They may not have been top-ranked but playing strong and feisty got Wawrinka realizing if he did it once he could do it again with any player.
Could it be the players or Wawrinka's skill that would make the difference in his success? Indian Wells proved great with wins over Dan Evans and Marton Fucsovics, despite a loss to Federer in the final. Stan Wawrinka has come back from knee surgery and had many doubts and anxieties about his game. He will continue to work on his strategies whether he wins by a retirement, an opponent's lacklustre match or playing hard and determined to get his victories. Stan 'The Man' Wawrinka is just grateful to be playing again and said at an Indian Wells press conference "...I think this year is special because I'm happy to be back..."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2IbR9sR
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