World Tour Finals player profile: No. 4 Stan Wawrinka

Season in review: Like his 2014 campaign, Wawrinka’s year has been highlighted by a memorable run to a Grand Slam title. Last season the groundbreaking triumph came at the Australian Open, where Wawrinka upset Rafael Nadal in the final. This time around the Swiss needed no injury-induced assist from the guy on the other side of the net. Wawrinka delivered a virtuoso performance to beat Novak Djokovic in four sets and ultimately deprive the world No. 1 of the calendar-year Grand Slam. Although the 30-year-old went through minor hard-court slumps this spring and again in advance of the U.S. Open, he always seems to bounce back in style. Wawrinka is a stellar 17-4 since the start of the year’s final major–where he reached the semifinals.

2015 record: 53-16
Fall record (post-U.S. Open): 12-3

Best tournament: French Open title
d. Marsel Ilhan 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
d. Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
d. Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-3, 6-2
d. Gilles Simon 6-1, 6-4, 6-2
d. Roger Federer 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(6)
d. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6(3), 6-4
d. Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4

Biggest win at different tournament: d. Rafael Nadal 7-6(7), 6-2 in Rome quarterfinals

World Tour Finals appearances: 2
World Tour Finals record: 4-4
Best World Tour Finals result: Semifinals (2013, 2014)

Record against other World Tour Finals qualifiers: 36-72
vs. Novak Djokovic: 4-21
vs. Andy Murray: 6-8
vs. Roger Federer: 3-17
vs. Rafael Nadal: 3-13
vs. Tomas Berdych: 11-5
vs. David Ferrer: 6-7
vs. Kei Nishikori: 3-1

Quotable: “It’s something special, for sure. When I started the year it was my goal to qualify for London, because it was such an amazing tournament for me last year. It’s always something special when you play against the top eight guys in the world. It’s the biggest challenge you can have to finish the year.”

Outlook: There is a lot to like about Wawrinka heading into the World Tour Finals. The world No. 4 has thrived on the biggest stages this season, with a title at Roland Garros, semifinals at the Australian Open and U.S. Open, and a quarterfinal at Wimbledon. Once again in fine form, Wawrinka’s fall swing includes a triumph in Tokyo and a semifinal in Shanghai–where he beat Nadal and took a set off Djokovic. In each of his two previous London appearances, Wawrinka compiled a 2-1 round-robin record to punch his ticket to the semifinals.

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