Stan Wawrinka was about two and a half hours removed from winning the US Open for his third major championship when he was presented with a question - completing a career Grand Slam by winning Wimbledon in 2017?
Stanislas Wawrinka holds aloft the US Open trophy after beating Novak Djokovic in New York on Sunday. Pic/AP
Stanislas Wawrinka holds aloft the US Open trophy after beating Novak Djokovic in New York on Sunday. Pic/AP
New York: Stan Wawrinka was about two and a half hours removed from winning the US Open for his third major championship when he was presented with a question he probably was figuring would be coming.
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After adding this trophy to those from the Australian Open in 2014, and the French Open in 2015, is it time to focus on completing a career Grand Slam by winning Wimbledon in 2017?
Wawrinka ran his left hand through his hair, rubbed his eyes and smiled. "So what? Are you saying next year I focus only on Wimbledon? There is no plan.
The only plan is trying to push myself the maximum to be the best player I can," Wawrinka said on Sunday night. Well, actually, Stan, you sure seem to be at this point. And that 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 victory over No 1-ranked and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the US Open final on Sunday night was only the latest evidence.
Wawrinka might have won a French Open junior title as a teenager, but it sure took him a while to show that sort of talent at the elite level. So long in the shadow of his Swiss countryman and close friend Roger Federer, Wawrinka did not reach a Grand Slam semifinal until age 28, in his 35th appearance at one of his sport's four most prestigious events. Now, though, Wawrinka has won three majors over the past three seasons, pulling even with Andy Murray. Since the 2005 French Open, Federer, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have won 39 of 47 Grand Slam trophies. Only Wawrinka and Murray also have multiple titles in that span.
So it's clear that the third-ranked Wawrinka now must be seen among the cream of the crop in men's tennis and a threat at all big tournaments moving forward. He is, after all, 3-0 in major finals, and has won 11 consecutive finals overall.
Wawrinka has never made it past the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, and lost in the second round there this year to the resurgent Juan Martin del Potro. So what about Wimbledon? What might he be able to do there? He added 1996 champion Richard Krajicek as a coaching consultant on grass this season, so he is definitely interested in improving at the All England Club.
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