Wawrinka’s Unbelievable Run
Hi, folks. There were too many things to say in one post after the French Open final so I decided to make another post. Thanks for taking part in the discussion. It was interesting as usual. One thing that came out about my last post was that people thought I didn’t give enough credit to Stan. So I will say again that he is a very deserved winner and was too good on the day. He played unbelievable tennis throughout the same way he did in Melbourne last year and I am delighted that he won another slam.
It cemented the fact that his first slam was not a fluke. When you beat the Djoker and Nadal to win a slam it is hard to call it a fluke anyway, but winning the French and beating the Djoker in the final just underscored the fact that he is unbelievably talented and basically unbeatable when he is on his game. That one-handed backhand remains an extraordinary shot, but his serve and forehand are amazing shots too. He is just physically a very strong individual who plays on his terms when he is on his game.
But he is complete as a player too. He has very decent volleys, touch, and movement. I like players who dominate and bully their opponents with raw power. I can definitely say that Stan is one of my favorite players. I like his personality a lot too. He is a very understated individual. For years, he was in Roger’s shadow and kind of just accepted it. But I’m really glad he stepped out of Roger’s shadow and came into his own. He did this by defeating Roger in straight sets.
But also by winning a second slam. He is now a great player in his own right, a player who can compete for slam titles and who no one can take lightly. He has won two slams since last year while it’s been just about three years now since Roger won his last slam. So he is actually the most successful Swiss player at present. I thought he was terrific in the closing ceremony as well. The way he came back to console the Djoker after their embrace at the net, and the way he gave the Djoker a standing ovation with the crowd.
He was totally humble and sincere in the victory. He knew how much this meant to the Djoker and showed compassion. It annoyed me how he kept smashing winner after winner when the Djoker was throwing everything at him, so I wasn’t appreciating the shotmaking as much I as I would under different circumstances, but you just gotta say too good and applaud. The whole thing had a satisfactory end anyway and I don’t regret any of it.
I say ‘missed opportunity’ because that’s not how I see this loss for the Djoker. That’s maybe what the press or the public thinks but if you are being realistic then you would say he never stood much of a chance when the draw came out. Of course, when he makes it all the way to the final you think he can do it. But only when it is all said and done can you really look at the whole thing in proper perspective. I don’t think it is a missed opportunity at all. He did something he could never do before which was to defeat Nadal.
People forget quickly and they always want more. But if you look at it in the proper perspective thein 2014n you see that he did better than ever before. He made progress. Of course, the loss was a big disappointment. But it wasn’t like 2013 where he had Nadal at his mercy and then choked badly. Those are the losses that really hurt, and the subsequent losses in the Wimbledon and US Open finals were evidence for me that he had difficulty overcoming that loss. Maybe even the losses in Melbourne and Wimbledon in 2014 was part of that.
He went through a bad patch where he lost four slam finals. But then he turned it around and won two more slams. I wasn’t even sure if he would ever win another slam. I think he has great powers of recovery and comes back from adversity very well. And knowing him this loss won’t stick. It would make no sense whatsoever for him to regret this loss, and I think his crying afterward was all he needed to be over this loss. Just think about it. He defeated Nadal which was a massive burden.
The scoreline suggested that it was an easy victory, but I assure you it was not. Mentally it took a toll on the Djoker. Especially the first set where he choked away a 4-0 lead. He had to exorcise all those past demons and that alone took a huge effort. Then he comes up against a transformed clay courter in Murray who hasn’t lost a match on clay all season. Murray takes him to five sets after play was suspended on Friday. This means he gets no rest day, after already having played the second semi.
Then on top of that he faces the Stanimal in the final who has been smashing everyone off the court, including one of the favorites Federer in straight sets. I don’t think anyone in the history of the sport could have won the title from that position. How can you have regrets about that? You’d have to be extremely hard on yourself. The Djoker fought heroically in the final, but there was no stopping this beast. He kept pounding ridiculous winners from ridiculous positions. It was just too good.
Was the Djoker mentally tired in the final? It is likely. Would he have won against Stan with a better draw? Possibly, but like I said Stan in this mode is basically unbeatable. I’m not sure how the Djoker could have done much better anyway. He plays both great defense and offense, but he doesn’t quite have the offensive strength of Stan. There is only so much you can do against that kind of hitting. The only alternative may have been to play the same kind of tennis, and the Djoker is not capable of it.
So yeah, I don’t see anything to regret here and I don’t see how this result changes much. The Djoker is still the best player in the world at present and will have a great shot at Wimbledon and the US Open. And he still has time to complete the career slam. I hope he gets it, but nothing is guaranteed in tennis. He also goes to 8-8 in slam finals which isn’t a great record but having won 8 slams is a great record. He is already one of the all-time greats and has plenty of time left to win more slams.
The career slam does help an awful lot because it puts you in another bracket, so I hope he can get it in the next few years. He is definitely a good enough clay courter to get it, but he hasn’t been very lucky over the years at the French. This year again it was the brutal draw. Maybe it is not his destiny to win it, but you better believe he will keep trying. He made a big step this year by defeating the clay monster. For that I am already eternally grateful to him and owe him my undying support.
And knowing him he will see what happened as a victory too. You can’t win every match you play. He almost does it but at some point you are just going to lose to a player who is in the zone. It even happened to Roger in his peak years when he lost to Safin at the 2005 Australian Open, as well as to Nadal every time they met at the French. At least the Djoker did something Roger could never do. The Djoker is no doubt one of the favorites at Wimbledon and I kind of hope he wins it.
It would be great to see Roger win a record 8th Wimby too though. We will see. A reader made me aware today of the fact that Nadal is playing the grass court event in Stuttgart this week. He would have played Rosol actually which would have been nice, but Rosol lost to Baghdatis. It’s gonna be interesting to see what happens next with Nadal anyway. I don’t think he can get a top 8 seed at Wimbledon which means he can play Roger or Djokovic in the fourth round for instance.
The intrigue never stops!
The
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