MELBOURNE – Stanislas Wawrinka finds his catalyst in his own restlessness: ‘I’m always nervous. That’s always been a positive thing for me,’ he confessed after advancing to the second round of the Australian Open.
The Swiss, who announced his retirement at the end of the season, had not won in Melbourne since 2021 and in any Grand Slam since 2024, the same year he fell out of the Top 100.
For this reason, the 2012 Olympic medallist has accepted that he is no longer the player he once was: “I don’t try to feel the same as I did ten years ago or more.
I’ve always been honest with myself, knowing where I am, what my capabilities are, what I can do and what I can still achieve… I know I’m not as good as I used to be.‘
’I’m getting older. But I’m still happy with what I do, always trying to push my own limits, always trying to improve,” admitted the 2014 Australian Open champion.
With those nerves fuelling him and with total knowledge of his game, he defeated Laslo Djere 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) at the KIA Arena, restoring confidence to the tournament, which gave him the last wild card for this year’s main draw.
‘You need to be very disciplined with yourself, with your mind, with what you have to do during the match. I think those slightly longer matches, best of five sets, always help me relax, be more focused and move better. That was the case today. I think I started playing better in the second, third and fourth sets,’ he reflected on the three-hour-and-20-minute battle he fought.
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