World No.8 Stanislas Wawrinka is someone who considers Chennai to be among his favourite stops on tour. It is not surprising that the 28-year-old is visiting Chennai for the sixth consecutive year to vie for the crown. The 19th edition of the Aircel Chennai Open, scheduled to take place at the city’s SDAT Tennis Stadium from 30th December 2013 to 5th January 2014 will present an exceptional line up of top talent marked by the lowest ever cut off in the history of tournament.
As one of the top ten players in the world, Wawrinka had a terrific 2013, qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and giving a tough fight to leading players. He reached the semi-finals of the season finale in his debut and though he fell to winner Novak Djokovic, he finished the year on a high, compiling a career-best 51-23 match record on the season - including nine wins against Top 10 players. Describing the year that has gone by, he says, “If you look at my results at the Grand Slams in Melbourne, Paris and New York, 2013 was definitely an outstanding year. My matches against Novak in Melbourne and New York were two of the most spectacular encounters in 2013. They showed me how close I am to the top guys and that I have my chances against them. I’m proud of how I played those matches and even if I lost I learnt a lot”.
The Swissman gained a lot of confidence after his exceptional performance at the Australian Open even though he lost the match against Djokovic. He considers his first appearance in a Grand Slam semi final at the US Open a big achievement and is glad that he has added it to his book of triumphs. Remembering his wonderful time there, he says, “It was amazing. The US Open is a very special tournament. I’m very happy with what I did during the US Open and am already looking forward to going back.”
While losing important matches is naturally disappointing for him, especially during the first few days after the match, he believes those very defeats make him stronger mentally and give him extra motivation to keep fighting, working hard and try again. Wawrinka ensures he discusses each match with coach Magnus Norman, analyses it, and looks at the positive stuff behind it. The fact that the lausanne native is always positive and rejoices with achievements both big and small is something that sets him apart. “It all comes step by step. You can always improve your game. I’ve been talking to Magnus this year and believe that this year my confidence has grown and I have played well in big matches and performed very well against top 10 opponents. In New York and london I showed that I can do well against the very best on a big stage,” he says optimistically.