Stanislas Wawrinka Starts 2014 With Chennai Win

Stanislas Wawrinka started 2014 as if it was still 2013. His win in Chennai was master class tennis over the whole tournament and should give him a lot of confidence going into the Australian Open in Melbourne. And last year's marathon match against Novak Djokovic was one of the highlights in the tennis season 2013 when considering all matches. And he is only the Swiss number two.

Stanislas Wawrinka has had an incredible year in 2013. It wasn't enough to get the "Sports Personality of the Year" award in Switzerland, but that hardly mattered. It seems that the tennis player from the French speaking part of Switzerland called the Romandie is preferring a life out of the spotlight any VIP status might give him. And now, again away from the spotlights concentrating on Doha, Brisbane, and Perth, he won the ATP tournament in India's Chennai in style. It looks like he intends to continue playing his best in the tennis season 2014.

Stanislas Wawrinka doesn't convey Roger Federer's glamour or have his international appeal. Images of him in a tuxedo are rarer than ones he smiles on. If he is made to wear formal gear, he appears like a fish out of water; not for him the fashion magazines of the world, but give him a tennis court anytime and he is happy. More than one great tennis nation would be glad to call him their number one tennis player, but Switzerland always has Roger Federer to pip him to the post.

Nonetheless, the 28-year-old world number eight has gained many fans in the past season. He earned the nickname "Marathon Man" during epic duels against top players like Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray. He stepped out of the overlong shadow of Roger Federer's when he beat 17-time Grand Slam winner in 2013 in the public poll as Sports Personality of the Year in Switzerland.

The recognition by people was something that had changed in 2013, said Stanislas Wawrinka in an interview with Swiss Television. Now, I get tremendous support throughout Switzerland, not only in the Romandie." The fact that the spotlight will probably always be directed onto Roger Federer doesn't bother him: "It was never a problem for me to be second to him. It was never a goal of mine to overtake him." A rivalry doesn't exist. "He is always the first to congratulate me when I played well and lost or when I won."

Playing well and losing is something Stanislas Wawrinka was getting used to in the past season. At the U.S. Open he reached the semi-finals and failed to get past Novak Djokovic in five sets. In Melbourne he wrung the last drop from his opponent in one of the most exhilarating matches of the year, but lost to Novak Djokovic. "It was my best, an incredible year," says the father of a three-year-old daughter. "But I hope that I have the potential to continue to improve."

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." Stanislas Wawrinka had the words of Irish author Samuel Beckett inked onto his skin in 2013. They have become the motto of the world number 8.

Something he has achieved without trying is being shortlisted for the Personality of the Year award (just called Swiss Award) in Switzerland. The award is handed out in various categories: Culture, Economics, Politics, Show, Society, and Sports. Being nominated at all is an award as each shortlist has only three names on it. 

Further reading
Giving up: The Key to Success
Jerzy Janowicz and Andy Murray
Tennis: Mr Darcis Says Nada

How Not to Win a Grand Slam

Andy Murray is following in Roger Federer’s and Rafael Nadal’s footsteps. He just broke the first long standing tennis record. He is the first player to have lost his first three appearances in a grand slam final without winning a single set. That is not the kind of record to inspire confidence in his ability to win one.

Andy Murray, tennis boy

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have made it part of the game to break records so regularly, chance is if you blinked you missed it. Now Andy Murray has finally set his first all-time record, and it’s not one to be proud of. To have reached three grand slam finals normally would be no mean feat, considering that there are usually two reserved tickets for Roger and Rafael. But to lose all three of them without ever winning a set is not the way to do it.

Watching Andy Murray in the Australian Open final was memorable. If ever young players have to be instructed in how not to win a grand slam, these pictures will serve perfectly well for them. Andy’s performance was deplorable, and so was his body language. Even walking out on court, defeat was already written all over him. It seemed that he knew that Novak Djokovic in his present form would walk all over him.

British media have been writing Andy’s tennis abilities up for two years now. They are doing him disfavour on two counts: His tennis is not as good as they portray it; while it is adequate to be secure in the top ten, he lacks the last edge to take him to the very top. Add to this the constant pressure the pile on him to win a grand slam (after 115,000 years in Roger Federer’s reckoning), and you’ll see that they’ll manage yet to make another Tim Henman of him.

While the media write Andy Murray’s tennis up, they write that of other players down as if they could replicate damaged British society as advocated through schools. I don’t know how far Andy has been damaged by the British educational system which is in shambles. Instead of asking the most of pupils and make them excel, the system has been constantly downgraded to let even the laziest pupil have a positive grade. Let’s hope that Andy knows that the rest of the world will not lower their tennis standard to do him a favour.

Roger Federer once said that talent can be learned, all it takes is a lot of work; with Rafael Nadal, you see that he is working his body to breaking point (and beyond); and now Novak Djokovic has put off his baby nappies and accepts the lessons to be learned from the two top workers in the business. Andy Murray on the other hand wants to take a few days off after having done nothing in the final to win it. He should rather spend more time on the training court, one would think.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have pushed each other to unprecedented heights in tennis; and Novak Djokovic seems to gear up to join the club of excellence. All three players share something in common: Roger was allowed to develop in a small country (a tennis dwarf called Switzerland) to burst on the scene fully confident of what he might be able to do; Rafa hid behind the Swiss (and still likes to do that) to keep out of the wind; and Nole is again the product of a tennis dwarf (Serbia).

Will Andy be able to overcome the handicap of coming from a nation with an exalted notion of its tennis abilities? Will he be able to overcome the constant carping for a grand slam win? Right now, this is highly dubious.

Further reading
Giving Up: Key to Success
Jerzy Janowicz and Andy Murray
Tennis With Gay Appeal in London