Season in review: It has been a tale of two seasons for Wawrinka. It began with a 13-match winning streak, highlighted by the greatest triumph of his career at the Australian Open and one that did not end until the Indian Wells fourth round. It continued on the clay courts of Monte-Carlo, where the third-ranked Swiss beat fellow World Tour Finals competitors Marin Cilic, Milos Raonic, and Roger Federer en route to the title. After that, things began to stall.
Nothing can change the fact that this will go down as an absolutely unbelievable year for Wawrinka; such is the luxury of having your first Grand Slam title in your back pocket. That being said, the Swiss has been a disaster since the U.S. Open. He has won just a single tournament match this fall (over Dominic Thiem in Paris), which was preceded by three straight opening losses and followed by a collapse against Kevin Anderson.
2014 record: 36-15
Fall record (post-U.S. Open): 2-4
Best tournament: Won Australian Open
d. Andrey Golubev 6-4, 4-1, ret.
d. Alejandro Falla 6-3, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4
d. Vasek Pospisil (walkover)
d. Tommy Robredo 6-3, 7-6(3), 7-6(5)
d. Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7
d. Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6(3), 7-6(4)
d. Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Biggest win at different tournament: d. Roger Federer 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 in Monte-Carlo final
World Tour Finals appearances: 1
World Tour Finals record: 2-2
Record against other World Tour Finals qualifiers: 32-45
vs. Novak Djokovic: 3-15*
vs. Roger Federer: 2-14
vs. Kei Nishikori: 2-1
vs. Andy Murray: 6-8
vs. Tomas Berdych: 9-5*
vs. Milos Raonic: 3-0
vs. Marin Cilic: 7-2*
*denotes in the same group
Quotable: “I’m extremely happy to be back in London. It was my dream and goal to qualify again this year after the great experience in 2013. It’s only my second time and being part of this great event remains a childhood dream for me. The atmosphere in London is one of a kind and it means a lot to me to be there together with the very best players of the world.”
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He has surprised the tennis community once before so I guess it’s not beyond the realms of possibility he could do it again. But I’m not holding my breath.
He kicks off against Berdy who he has lost to only once in their last eight meetings – he should be good for another win. He has usually been a tough match up for Djokovic over five sets but Djokovic has had the upperhand over three sets – expect more of the same. at the O2. His third RR opponent is Cilic against whom he has 7:2 h2h. Cilic is riding on a high and Stan is in a slump – a win by Stan would count as a major upset.
Stan 1:2 in the RR
Yes, it has been mostly a “great year” for the Stanimal, but my hopes are not high for him in London Town.
^^^ nor are anyone’s!
Reblogged this on LoveAroundTheCourt.