Stanislas Wawrinka: A mere mortal among the gods of tennis

Everyone knows that world tennis has been dominated by three players for just over 15 years: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. However, despite this hegemony, some players have managed to shake up the hierarchy.

While some of the big players in the top 10 have managed to beat them, sometimes even winning a Grand Slam tournament against the odds, Stanislas Wawrinka has done a little more than that.

The Swiss tennis player took a long time to reach his best level, and didn't hold it for very long. But at his peak, he could trouble any player on the circuit.

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Wawrinka began his career in 2003 and gradually climbed the ranks until he won his very first title at Umag (Croatia) in 2006 and reached the top 50.

He continued to improve, breaking into the top 10 in 2008, the year in which he won a gold medal in doubles at the Beijing Olympics with compatriot Roger Federer.

In the following years, he won a few tournaments, had some fine Grand Slam runs without necessarily performing incredibly well, and hovered around the top 20.

It was from 2013 onwards that he began to find the confidence he needed to achieve some very good results, with a final at the ATP Master 1000 Madrid, a title at Oeiras, and above all his first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open, as well as a semifinal at the ATP World Tour Finals.

Now a real threat, Wawrinka arrived at the 2014 Australian Open as a serious outsider against the giants dominating the circuit at the time.

After an exceptional tournament from start to finish, the Swiss managed to eliminate Djokovic in the quarter-finals after a five-set match. He then went on to beat Tomas Berdych in four sets and Rafael Nadal in just over two hours.

It was an incredible victory that allowed Wawrinka to etch his name in the history of his sport and his country, particularly as his victory over Nadal was his first ever over a world number one.

That same year, he won the ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo, reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon and the US Open, and helped Switzerland win its only Davis Cup. All in all, it was a very successful year for Wawrinka.

The 2015 season too was exceptional for the Swiss, who won the French Open by beating Federer and then Djokovic in the final. Aside from his outstanding performances in tournaments, Wawrinka also enjoys great popularity with the public for his fine technical game and one of the best one-handed backhands on the circuit.

And his success continued in 2016, when he won his third Grand Slam at the US Open, beating Djokovic in the final.

However, the 2016 US Open was the last Grand Slam victory for Wawrinka, whose level gradually declined thereafter, mainly due to the physical problems that have accumulated with age.

After the pandemic, Wawrinka has found it hard to get back into the swing of things, with his persistent injuries not to blame. However, despite approaching his forties, he is still hanging in there, even if his results are not as good as they were.

Late March, Wawrinka will turn 39, bringing him a step closer to retirement. However, like his compatriot Federer, he has no intention of hanging up his racket that easily, especially as he is still one of the world's top 50 players. So let's continue to enjoy one of the few players who has managed to shake up a well-established hierarchy!