Stan Wawrinka: From first round loss to French Open Champion in one year

Stan Wawrinka poses with the French Open trophy

Coming into the French Open championship, the exciting din of the world’s media consisted mostly of Novak Djokovic and his continuing search for a first title win at Roland Garros.

Even yours truly fell into the trap, here with this piece for Sportskeeda.

Indeed, it was easy to see why Djoker would do it. Fuelled by a personal hunger that saw him play like a man possessed since late last year, he had won every big tournament he entered in and was second to absolutely no-one.

Shadowed by the legacy of Rafael Nadal, the Serb had a big task on his hand, but he swiftly put a stop to the “King of Clay” and his long-lasting dominance as he beat him in straight sets during a mouth-watering quarter-final. There and then, it seemed as if he finally had the measure of this Slam. Could he go on and really do it? First he had to put an end to Andy Murray’s blistering winning streak on clay, and he eventually did so with panache to set up an epic showdown with Stan Wawrinka in the final.

The stage was finally set for a historic match of tennis, and the world No. 1 was the firm favourite.

In the end, of course, it was Wawrinka who emerged victorious and deservedly so, creating his own little racket along the way – and what a win it was for the Swiss superstar.

Novak Djokovic congratulates Stan Wawrinka on his win

Dramatic turnaround since 2014 showing

Reflecting back on just how poorly “Stan the Man” performed on the brilliantly orange Parisian shale just over 12 months ago, it would have been nigh on impossible to envisage just how he could turn things around so drastically to become a champion as he beat Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in three hours and 12 minutes of incredible tennis.

Unperturbed by the odds that were stacked so firmly against him, he dusted himself off to put the memories of his disappointing defeat to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez firmly behind him with a series of scintillating performances that now make him not just a surprise package lingering in the wings, but a real threat for the remainder of the year.

Indeed, although his nadir in Paris that year came just a few short months after his massive win at the Australian Open at the start of 2014, it was clear the 30-year-old had already instigated a radical change of mentality that could still see him experience yet more big day successes, and he didn’t allow his inconsistency to bother him.

A personification, an embodiment even, of the tattoo printed on his left arm which reads “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail better,” Wawrinka put his philosophies and mindset into practice even more spectacularly than ever before as he ignored so much negative talk such as the bubbling talk of his final opponent as favourite, of Roger Federer as the better Swiss player or of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as a French man with a point to prove.

What’s more, he conjured a rare win over the man who just a few short months ago had put an end to his Australian Open title defence.

Maintaining his composure in spectacular fashion in each of these clashes, he displayed tremendous resilience along the way to ensure he finally took championship point at the second time of asking in the simmering French heat, having broken back twice in the fourth set when a lesser player would have wilted under the strain and pressure of the all-consuming, potentially crushing silence, the intermittent clicking of the photographers’ cameras and the burden of such a long, 11-year wait.

Stan’s coach Magnus Norman has played a huge role in this victory

Magnus Norman’s involvement crucial to triumph

Although Stan was the instigator on the court, it’s fair to say that Magnus Norman had his fair say from the stands and during the numerous training sessions ever since he came on board over two years ago. Already pin-pointed as a crucial key in his first Slam win by so many commentators, the ability of the pair to produce a winning combination is all the more stunning when you remember that Norman was himself a heart-broken French Open loser himself back in 2000.

Harnessing that agony with an impressive level of resolve, they worked tirelessly to ensure the Lausanne-born star sky-rocketed incredibly past his previous best-ever quarter-final showing to clinch the Coupe des Mousquetaires.

Famously, Norman was an incredibly confident player during his heyday, and that’s something which has really benefited his protegé.

Despite the fact the balance of power vacillated between Djoker and Stan from set to set in the June decider, the best example of Wawrinka’s new-found self-belief came when he hit a stunning backhand that flew venomously, and jaw-droppingly, past the net post in the third set – a point which helped him pull away with a one-set lead.

In fact, as relayed by Sport 360’s Reem Abulleil, the dynamic duo had worked specifically on creating, and channelling, that innate sense of confidence.

“One of the areas we tried to work on a lot is the confidence, trying to believe a little bit more in himself. When there are important points, have more patience, not going for the winner on the second or third shot because then you’re going to miss. Really believe in what you’re doing, show yourself, show emotions, show that you have confidence, and he’s been doing that in the big tournaments in the last two and a half years.”

Stan Wawrinka returns a shot in the final against Novak Djokovic

More slams are awaiting Stan the man

With confidence now higher than ever before, the sky really is the limit for this year’s French Open champion.

After all, with time working against him, the opportunity has all of a sudden presented itself to capitalise on this fantastic purple patch.

The number of stars who have claimed victory at one of the four majors over the age of 30 – although not unheard of – is quite rare. In fact, just five of the last 15 years (including Wawrinka’s recent win) have seen this happen – perhaps most telling of all, however, is the fact that just one of these performances have come at Wimbledon which is the next Slam on the horizon, when Roger Federer did it.

With SW19, statistically speaking, the hardest to win in one’s thirties, the odds are well and truly stacked against Stan.

Nevertheless, he has rarely been one to let trials and tribulations bog him down, and it promises to be an enthralling watch as he looks to once more beat the odds and the best in the business to clinch his third Grand Slam.

Can he do it?