Stanislas Wawrinka isn’t quite enjoying the transition from clay to grass. The French Open finalist bowed out in the first round of Queen’s, losing to Feliciano Lopez in straight sets, looking a bit forlorn after the long and grinding clay season.
A loss in Queen’s isn’t quite the ideal preparation for the career grand slam seeking Wawrinka. Wawrinka has been working with Federer’s former coach, Paul Annacone in order to get his Wimbledon preparation inch perfect, but as of now it hasn’t really given him the right results.
“I’ve known Paul for some time – especially when he was with Roger. He knows a lot about grass but also tennis in general. I know I can play really well at Wimbledon but I want to get better. Two years ago was my best in the quarters and I was playing great – but Roger was even better that day.” said Wawinka in an interview with Guardian.
He was then questioned about the big 4 dominance in World Tennis and how he had turned into this silent 5th member, after getting the better of Andy Murray on multiple occasions, especially in grand slam tennis. But Wawrinka refused to talk about the big 5, saying that the likes of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray have won far more than he has.
“Andy is the closest but the one I play less out of the big four,” Wawrinka says. “But he is certainly the one I beat more than the other three. It’s always tough when we play and Paris was the same. But I was playing well that day so I went for it.”
He also said that winning Wimbledon was a little too much for him to talk about.
“Winning Wimbledon is too far away for me to talk about it. It’s the same when people ask if I think about being No1. I never do that. It’s not my style. And if you look at the race to be No1, I am very far from it. All I can do is keep trying to improve.”
He also spoke about his friendship with Roger and how he has had his best moments on court with him, in the Davis Cup and during their Gold medal doubles campaign.
