Stan Wawrinka on Thursday withdrew from both of the upcoming Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami. Wawrinka missed the rest of 2017 following Wimbledon because of a knee injury and his comeback this season has been slow going through two months. The 32-year-old Swiss played at the Australian Open, in Sofia, in Rotterdam, and Marseille, faring well on none of those four occasions. He suffered losses to Tennys Sandgren, Mirza Basic, Tallon Griekspoor, and Ilya Ivashka (via retirement last week in Marseille).
In an unsurprising move, Wawrinka will skip Indian Wells and Miami and get ready for the April-May clay-court swing.
“They are both amazing events, but coming back from a big surgery after having played a few tournaments, I have discussed with my team that it is best for me to build on the progress and go back to practice,” the world No. 12 said. “I’ve enjoyed being back on tour playing matches and this gives me even more motivation to go back on the practice court. My goal is to find my highest level again and in order to do that I will keep working hard every single day.
“I need to be patient and give my body the time it needs, but as of now my goal is to come back on clay,” Wawrinka said. “I love that part of the season and hope to be ready by then. I want to thank all my fans who are always a great support. I’m working hard on and off the court and hope to be back within a few weeks.”
Novak Djokovic is not expected to be back within a few weeks, but the Serb is still holding out hope for a surprise appearance in Indian Wells. The former world No. 1, who has been plagued by an elbow injury, is currently training in Las Vegas with coach Andre Agassi. Djokovic has just now returned to the practice court for the first time since losing to Hyeon Chung in the Australian Open fourth round. Like Wawrinka, the 12-time Grand Slam champion did not play in 2017 after Wimbledon.
Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, also left Melbourne with an injury. The Spaniard’s hip problem forced him to withdraw from the 500-point event in Acapulco earlier this week.
“During my last training I noticed again a puncture in the same area that I felt in Australia,” Nadal explained. “The doctors told me it’s impossible to play; it hurts and I have no choice. I always try to [play] until the last moment, but I can’t.
“For me it’s impossible today to say something realistic about if am going to be in Indian Wells or not. My goal is to be there and I’m going to work to try to be there, but of course I can’t say yes or no now.”
good decision, Stan
should never have come back in the first place
So there’re no Stan, no Murray, no Djoko and no Rafa! What a weakened field. Maybe the rest of the top ten the likes of Goffin, Anderson, Cilic and Delpo may have good chances of winning one of IW/Miami? Dimi, Thiem and A Zverev are not looking that convincing so far this season.
All of these guys should hold off until the clay season, imo. Djokovic is the biggest worry in some ways, because he had as much time off as Fed last season but it obviously wasn’t enough. Reports I’ve read say that he may have been carrying the elbow injury back into 2016.
Stan had major knee surgery and should have waited until the clay season. Rafa, once he clinched YE #1, should have taken an extended break as well.
The thing is, all these guys, along with Murray, are north of 30. History says that they’re well into decline, just as Fed was before he switched racquets. No guarantee that any of them can come back to their best. Imo, it’s very unlikely that we’ll see these four (with Fed) in the top 5 again.
Hello, there you go again! You think the big racket is a miraculous cure to a physical decline??
Imo, Fed was winning from early 2017 because he only had Rafa as his main rival, and Rafa himself was also just back from injury. The big five (including Stan here with the big four) are/were always a class or two above the rest at the slams and masters, so without most of them in tip top conditions, it make it easier for Fedal to top the rankings, as the rest of the field are simply no match for the two of them. They, the likes of Cilic and Delpo who are slam holders themselves, can at best beat one of them but not two of them in a row.
For Djoko, he’s just too good not to come back to his winning ways. As long as he spends time treating his elbow, and still has the desire and motivation to play and win his matches, he has time on his side and will most likely outlast Fedal. He’s only 30/31 and players these days can play good tennis well into their late thirties. I won’t be surprised that Djoko will play till he’s 38/39 or even 40, and there’s not many from the next gen who could deal with him the great counterpuncher cum defence/ offence player. Furthermore, like Rafa, Djoko started off as a more offensive player, he could go back to his more offensive style, painting the lines with precision.
Djoko’s problem all along is catching up and beating Fedal, he doesn’t have problem vs others except maybe Stan at the slams (but Stan is inconsistent and not always reaching later rounds at the slams). Djoko hardly gets injured, the over the top concern that he’s going into decline and can no longer come back to his best again, is unwarranted imo. Djoko is very fit and his body is in better conditions than Fed, who has his back issue for so long. The current long break may end up being a good thing for him, for his body to rest and recover, after a good six years of top form tennis without much rest.
Murray’s hip injury may be a bigger concern, and Murray used to spend his energy unnecessarily on court imo, by counterpunching defensively (unlike both Rafa and Djoko) and his body may be more beaten up than Djoko’s.
As for Rafa, he’s the strongest physically among the three and he’s used to dealing with injuries. As long as he cuts down on his schedule, and plays more offensively like he did at RG and Beijing and not grinding, he’s simply too good in his aggression not to beat most if not all of the players.
Well, no, I think Federer is indeed in physical decline, and has been for probably 7-8 years. He’s good enough that he could compete near the top until he suffered a bad injury in 2013, but the larger racquet has given him that extra boost. But he’s *much* older than the rest of these guys, especially now that even the youngest of them is past 30.
In any case, what Fed is doing is unprecedented, and probably due in large part to his easier style of play. There’s no reason, in my opinion, to think that any of the other guys will be number 1 when they’re 36 going on 37. One of the younger guys will displace them (and probably Roger) fairly soon.
Hello, we’re not talking of them becoming no.1 again at 35/36. Rafa for one won’t play till he’s Fed’s age now, maybe one or two years younger, but he’s good enough to be no.1 in the next few years as long as he keeps himself fit.
As for Djoko, he hardly gets injured, even fitter and healthier than Fed; he’s not in physical decline yet, just affected by an injury after playing for so long; just look at his footwork at the AO this year, he had hardly slowed down! He’s wise enough to reduce his workload from 2012 onwards, and will likely do so even more going forward. He may not reach no.1 or at least not for as long as he did during 2011-2016, but he maybe good enough to win more slams and masters even at ‘ripe old age’.
You keep bigging up Fed but there were players like Agassi, Laver and Ken Rosewall who also won slams at ripe old age, and Fed may be setting the precedent for guys like Rafa and Djoko, or even the future generations to follow!
‘Fed was good enough that he could compete near to the top until 2013…’; but wasn’t Fed back then at the age that both Rafa and Djoko are at now? Rafa is/was also playing near or at the top and even ended the year as no.1 in 2017 when he’s 31.
What are you talking about? You’re trying to convince us about the demise of Fed’s fellow big four members but I think it’s premature; Rafa is not done yet! I don’t think Djoko is either; he may need to take a longer time to recover, but that doesn’t mean that he’s not going to recover. He still made the QF of FO, Wimbledon and R4 of AO, wasn’t any worse off than Fed in 2013 at the slams.
Murray may be a concern but he’s trying very hard to make a come back so we have to just wait and see.
“For Djoko, he’s just too good not to come back to his winning ways. As long as he spends time treating his elbow, and still has the desire and motivation to play and win his matches, he has time on his side and will most likely outlast Fedal.”
I think this is probably right, but I am a little concerned for Djokovic. He has had this elbow problem for a really long time now, it seems strange that an injury like that would be so troublesome for so long. Apart from that there’s the mental side of things – will he stay motivated to win slams into his 30s? Maybe, but not necessarily. A lot of great players eventually get burnt out by the tour, it’s not uncommon at 32-33.
“I won’t be surprised that Djoko will play till he’s 38/39 or even 40”
I will, simply because very few players go that far. Federer’s still going now, but even at 36.5, 39 is a *long* way away. He might eventually push 40, but thinking about that now is looking too far ahead, things could just as soon end suddenly. I think most players in their mid thirties are only one serious injury away from calling it quits at any given time, they’re in the proverbial bonus rounds.
Yeah, but that’s what Djoko himself said, that he’s going to play for a long time more! And, I won’t be surprised that he’s capable of doing so if his elbow is properly healed.
He can outlast both Fed and Rafa and I feel he’s thinking about that too. Djoko doesn’t need to grind as long as he doesn’t face the big four guys and Stan; he’s clearly way ahead of Cilic and Delpo; as long as he finishes his matches asap, he’ll keep his body in tip top conditions when there’re no Fedal (and Murray) to extend him. If he can deal with Fedal, he can deal with the next gen guys when none of them are in the league of Fedal.
Yes he probably will outlast Fed and Rafa, mainly due to the former’s age and the latter having more injuries. I still really doubt he’ll be playing at 38 though, even if he’s thinking about it now. If he does, it’ll certainly be impressive.
And sure, he won’t have to grind against Fedal once they’re gone, but he’ll have to grind against much younger players (Chung, Shapovalov, Zverev et. al) on hard courts. Hell, by the time Fedal are finally gone, the Next-gen might have eventually come good!
Dont think he needs to grind against the next gen as he simply could play his aggressive game to beat them; its they having to grind against him! They’re not Fedal!
Not forgetting too that he (and Fedal) is (are) good in both ROS and serving, which none of the young gen guys are good at both, so Djoko would have the upperhand against them.
If I were Djoko, and assuming I know my elbow would be fine, I would not rush to return to the tour when I could see Fedal dominating at the moment.
I would probably let my body heal and then work on my game the way Fed did in 2016 injury break and then come back all ready. By then, who knows, Fedal’s level may have gone down; better not meeting them now when Djoko would most likely be beaten by them and then their confidence (when facing him) would go up further.
Hes good enough, when fit, to work his way back to the top ten or even top five regardless of his ranking now.
luckystar AT 4:42 PM,
Fed tried to return to the tour already 2 months after his surgery. He was in Miami in March, but withdrew from the tournament (official reason: a stomach virus).
After losses in several tournaments, Wimbledon included, he took a 6-month injury break.
Just wonder why everytime Rafa is injured retirement talk rears its head, and the old cliche of wont be playing when hes 36 blah blah, the point is hes playing now, cant us fans just be left alone to enjoy that, anything else is for the future, honestly it gets really irritating at times ?
Alison Hodge AT 12:38 PM,
Fortunately, Rafa ignores prophets of doom and gloom. At the end of last year, Rafa said he had heard doom and gloom predictions since he was 18 years (!) old.
Rafa was interviewed by Le Monde, a French newspaper, during the 2017 Paris Masters. He says in his interview: “When I was 18, many people were predicting that my career wouldn’t be long, because of my style of play. After sixteen years on the circuit, I’m still there and very competitive. This is the thing that matters to me the most, beyond all the titles I could win.” (Via Google Translate)
http://www.lemonde.fr/tennis/article/2017/11/13/rafael-nadal-je-joue-avec-la-douleur_5214107_1616659.html
Vamos Rafa! 🙂
Rafas injury looks really serious…too bad…hope not another washout year.
OFFICIAL:
Rafa withdrew from IW and Miami.
https://twitter.com/Rafael_Plaza/status/969621549614551040
From Rafa:
“Hi everyone. Unfortunately, the injury I suffered in Acapulco before starting the tournament is in the same area as the one suffered in Melbourne. I won’t be able to play in Miami or Indian Wells as I need to recover. It was very painful to retire from Acapulco and it’s very hard as well to not play in the USA. I will miss you and I will do everything that’s possible to be back there in 2019. Thank you very much.”
https://www.facebook.com/Nadal/posts/10155643685711026
Expected withdrawal by Rafa. It’s a good decision imo, to allow himself maximum recovery/healing time before the clay season starts.
Raquet change or competition change? Obviously competition (or lack thereof). Weak Era deja vu all over again.
“Much has also been made of Federer’s astonishing improvements late in his career. The switch to a larger racquet that has turned his backhand into a major weapon being chief amongst them. But there is arguably a more significant factor in aiding Federer’s return to the top of the sport. And that is the injuries that all of his major rivals are suffering from. Nadal has withdrawn from or retired during his last six tournaments. Djokovic, Murray and Wawrinka have all been forced to resort to surgery for long-term injury problems.
Without those challengers, it is in many ways unsurprising that Federer is now the dominant force in the game. Before his injury hit 2016 he was playing at a high level, making three Grand Slam finals across the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Only Novak Djokovic was a more regular presence in Major title matches in that period reaching six, and it took the Serb to deny Federer on those three occasions. In essence then what we can see is that Federer’s level in 2017 and 2018 is arguably at a similar level as it was before his injury. The difference is in his opponents.”
https://realsport101.com/news/sports/tennis/roger-federer-dont-believe-the-hype/
#TheTruthIsOutThere
#THASP
Thank god stan did this.