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What comes next for Stan Wawrinka?

By Keshav Gopalan

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 06: Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland watches Donna Vekic of Croatia play Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium during their Ladies' Singles third round match on day five of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 6, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 06: Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland watches Donna Vekic of Croatia play Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium during their Ladies' Singles third round match on day five of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 6, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /
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Stan Wawrinka seemed to be on his way to a triumphant return, beating 6th seed Grigor Dimitrov. However, he lost in the next round to Italian qualifier Thomas Fabbiano. His “comeback” so far has been lacklustre, and the Swiss three-time slam champ admitted that while coming back to match play he considered quitting the sport altogether.

He’s 6-10 so far this year, dropped out of the top 200 and is now barely within it.

What’s gone wrong?

In all the years Wawrinka has been playing, it has been established that consistency has never been his strong suit. In some of his best performances in grand slams, his results immediately prior have been average at best and astoundingly poor in some instances (2017 French Open).

It seems that consistency is one of the main issues, however, another issue that’s bringing him down is that his form within matches is incredibly inconsistent as well. On several occasions this year, Stan starts a match with guns blazing, only for his form to dip massively and let the match slip from his hands. His 1st round match in the French Open this year was the pinnacle of inconsistent play, by the end of which Wawrinka was barely chasing easily “gettable” balls (admittedly, it looked like his knee was causing some nagging issues).

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Could playing Challengers help?

Wawrinka has barely played any matches since he came back in Rome. Tennis is a sport where the momentum of playing many matches makes a huge difference in your form, and the lack of match play is crucial in Wawrinka’s poor form.

Next: Thought Wimbledon was fun? The US Open will be better

Playing Challenger events have been hugely successful for a few players; Kei Nishikori has been playing splendid tennis after his victory in a challenger in Texas, while Richard Gasquet did the same a few months ago and has had a decent season so far, with one title and a final appearance. Besides, his ranking is barely within the top 200. Playing challengers will help him get a few matches under his wing and also improve his ranking.

Could he bounce back?

Certainly. After his match in Roland Garros, Wawrinka looked fine physically and never gave up, fighting for every point. With more match practice and some discussion with his team with regards to scheduling and change in match play, tactics etc, Wawrinka can bounce back and play well. Time and patience here are key.

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