Stan Wawrinka doesn't consider himself equal to tennis' big four. But he does believe he is the kryptonite to Novak Djokovic's game.
And a new rivalry in tennis may be born.
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In a candid interview with The Daily Telegraph, the 30-year-old Wawrinka, the reigning French Open champion, say he has the formula to stop the world's No. 1 player. He did in the final at Roland Garros, and now is ready to prove that victory was no fluke.
"Entering the final in Paris, I was seeing Novak winning everything," Wawrinka told The Daily Telegraph this week. "He didn't lose a match on clay, he was the big favorite. But I still thought, 'Play your game, he doesn't like you, he doesn't like the way you play your game, you're the only player who can really push him back, who can really make him feel uncomfortable.' And that's what happened in the final.
"Little by little, already at the end of the first set, I started to be maybe 20 centimeters in front [in my court position], and he started to be a little bit back, and little by little I was dictating. And for sure, it gave me a lot of confidence."
Wawrinka has won two of the last six Grand Slam events, dating to the 2014 Australian Open, when he took out an ailing Rafael Nadal in the finals. That's as many as Djokovic has, one more than Nadal and two more than Andy Murray and Roger Federer, who complete the so-called "Big Four" with Djokovic and Nadal.
Federer's Swiss compatriot says he is not yet as consistent as the Big Four, which is why he is not yet at their level.
Wawrinka says he has tried to mimic the Big Four and hit with them every chance he gets. He says while other players develop a resignation that they aren't as good as the Big Four, he has used their greatness as motivation.
"I don't put myself as a rival with them. I respect them so much. I try to practice with them as much as I can because you can learn so much from the top guys, but I'm never: 'I'm going to play you, what's going to happen?'"
Wawrinka credits coach Magnus Norman and his fitness trainer for his development. And now, he could be the arch-rival that Djokovic has been lacking. They could meet in the semifinals at Wimbledon to find out.
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