Just as life, sport, in general, has an inherent ability to throw at us some intriguing, incredible stories. While few stories mesmerize us with their sheer enormity of the results, others inspire us with the process, irrespective of the result.
At the ongoing French Open, one such remarkable comeback story that has just left us in awe is the rise and resurgence of none other than the Swiss, Stan Wawrinka. His incredible journey so far to the quarterfinals amidst the glooms of defeat, disappointment, uncertainty and injury scare just before heading into the second Grand Slam of the year has been a sensational story at this year’s Roland Garros.
Having already lived his life on tennis courts under the shadows of the Swiss maestro Roger Federer as Switzerland’s second best, Wawrinka has always been the unsung hero of this generation. Analyzing Wawrinka’s career and achievements so far, he gives us an impression of being an elite racehorse, destined for abundance and greatness, but has always been left stranded by inconsistencies and injury scares throughout his career.
Being level-headed, a well-balanced person not only in embracing emphatic and sensational wins, but also in ignominious and heart-breaking defeats, the quality that pretty much defines Wawrinka, the Swiss star has a reputation of showing a lot of character in pulling off big ticket wins against the best of the best, at the grandest of stages.
Despite anomalies in his performances, indifferent form, inconsistencies and being plagued by injuries throughout his career, Wawrinka is a 3-time Grand Slam champion. Having defeated Rafael Nadal once and Novak Djokovic twice in the finals to be crowned as triple Grand Slam champion is a testimony to his immense talent, character and a never say die attitude.
Even though Wawrinka has struggled to make an impression at ATP Masters events as one would have expected, his innate ability to raise his game, especially at Grand Slams, when it matters the most against the best of the opponents is unique, rare and truly remarkable.
After winning the US Open in 2016, the Swiss continued his dream run at the Grand Slams, reaching the Semi-finals at 2017 Australian Open and had a stupendous run to the finals at Roland Garros in 2017 before succumbing to the ‘King of Clay’ in the summit clash. In this time period, Wawrinka also won the Geneva Open and was a finalist at St. Petersburg and ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells and last but not the least, re-escalated to his career high ranking of 3.
But, following this monumental rise which saw the best of Wawrinka, the Swiss star succumbed to twin first-round defeats at Queen’s Club and Wimbledon. A forgettable Wimbledon was his last tournament of 2017 as he had to withdraw from the rest of the season owing to a recurring knee injury.
He made his long-awaited comeback from injury at the 2018 Australian Open, however, failed to create an impression for about year and a half before in the lead up to Roland Garros 2019. Neither he appeared as Wawrinka of old nor managed to win any titles after his comeback.
He ran into an extended slump in form and at the age of 34, his career appeared heading downhill. Wawrinka headed into the ongoing French Open with plenty of questions unanswered as uncertainty and doubts hovered around his game and future. In such a scenario, he would have desperately hoped for a few things to fall in place and most importantly, to achieve few inspiring wins to revive his career at the Slam that he has won before in 2015.
In spite of poor form and the terrible results that the Swiss star was going through, he always had a big heart and that perhaps is his most indispensable asset on a tennis court. And the champion that he is, rose from the shackles of disappointment to turn the tide at the ongoing French Open.
Following an easy first couple of rounds, Wawrinka played a sensational match against Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in the third round and went past the resilient Bulgarian in three tense tie-break sets to win 7- 6(7-5), 7-6(7-4), 7-6(10-8). For Wawrinka, this match was like a dress rehearsal, a predecessor for what was to follow.
In the fourth round, Wawrinka came across an upbeat Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Swiss star’s epic five-set thriller against the Greek young sensation was perhaps the match of the tournament so far as Wawrinka turned out to be unconquerable, unassailable in their fourth-round clash, finally edging past the stern test from Tsitsipas 7-6(8-6), 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 to set up a mouth-watering, fascinating clash against his compatriot, Federer.
It remains to be seen how far does Wawrinka go at the ongoing French Open, but, one thing is for sure, he is back to his very best level, somewhere he belongs.
Wawrinka’s remarkable comeback story at Roland Garros is a glaring example not only for budding tennis players but also for all the millennials who are going through the quarter and mid-life crises as it demonstrates the never say die attitude and the importance of always showing up, even when the conditions get tougher.
Moreover, his monumental rise so far at the ongoing French Open is an out loud cry to all to keep believing in one’s own ability and talent and to show some patience and resilience in our efforts. Because, it might take some time to achieve success, but once we get it, it would be far sweeter than what we anticipated.
Indeed, Stan Wawrinka’s return to form augurs well not only for the French Open but also for the upcoming events on the tour!
