I love watching Stan Wawrinka play (or Paprika as my daughter calls him). He's one of those guys you watch and wonder how the heck he hasn't won more. He's got some serious game.....and a sick one-hand back hand, which I'm partial to as that's what I use.
Last edited by MWM; 01-18-2014 at 07:51 PM.
Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David
I don't think so. Wawrinka takes it pretty seriously and I'm pretty sure he's not wealthy. He's a friend of Federer's and Roger used to play doubles with him just so Wawrinka could earn some more money, back when he was struggling on tour.
Wawrinka is incredibly talented with a great serve and some of the more powerful ground strokes in the game today. He can trade shots with anyone out there. I think his conditioning is an issue at times and I also think he loses his patience at times. He does tend to get irritated and plays "on tilt" at times. At that level, you just can't lose your mental focus. He's got grand slam winner talent and he's fun to watch. His backhand is one of the most lethal shots on tour.
Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David
Feels weird rooting against americans, but was not disappointed to see Serena upset today.
Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David
Wawrinka is a good player. I think your comment about his athleticism is spot on. I think he's built a little stocky and just doesn't move around the court that well. At the same time his physique helps him bring such natural power on that backhand. I got to see him play live a year back and he was very impressive (against Djokovik), but Novak just seemed to outlast him physically.
All the tennis talent in the world, I think just might be more of a question of how he is built physically and the limitations that come with it. Some guys just cap out as a top 10 player because it is so difficult to keep up with the superior athletes like Rafa and Novak.
The US Open semi against Novak last year was an amazing match. If that's the one you were at, you are a lucky man. I agree that Novak just outlasted him. They played a 24 minute game in the 5th set that just kept going back to deuce. Wawrinka was serving that game and you could tell he was done after that game. I don't think he won another one as it was obvious he had nothing left.
Those 2 also played an epic match 5 set match in last years 4th round that Novak won 12-10 in the 5th set. Wawrinka can play.
Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David
I actually saw him at the US open the year before last.... I can't remember if Stan even won a set... I think maybe the first one went to tie break, and ocne Novak won the rest of the match seemed to turn that way quickly.
I still came away thinking that Stan matched him shot for shot in the first set, but I think it was mentally tough to lose that first set because he knew that Novak was only going to get stronger whereas Stan probably used his best effort early on. I think his conditioning has gotten better since then because last season he had a number of very very impressive matches against top players and was a tough match for anyone. I think was able to keep up that top level of play for 3-4 sets at a time as opposed to 1-2. No questioning his talent either way. Will be interesting to see how he arrives this season... it's kind of odd seeing the "breakout" he had last season at age 27... his peak might be short lived but would be fun seeing him keep his level of play for another year or two, he might be able to make another semi, and who knows at that point, you might get lucky and even win a major if you can get that far.
Wawrkina has really come into his own over the last year or two, which is late in his career as he's 28 years old. Supposedly, he started to focus on the mental side of the game as that's what always held him back the most.
He's a guy none of the top players want to see in their draw. Djokovic now has him in the quarter final and I guarantee you he was rooting like crazy for Robredo to beat him. Wawrinka is a tough guy to play against.
As mentioned, I think his conditioning is something that holds him back some, but the other thing he lacks is a really good defensive game. When his offensive game is on, he's a beast. But when he plays against other top players where he can't always dictate the points, he has difficulty. Djokovic has a brilliant defensive game and it's the thing more than anything else that separates him. Federer had it all. Nadal plays great defense as well, but doesn't need to as much as Djokovic. Guys like Del Potro and Wawrinka could elevate themselves into that upper echelon if they developed better defensive shot making.
Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David
I think Federer might be 'back'. He was outstanding against Tsonga... hardly even looked challenged. Don't remember the last time he beat a guy of that calibre so easily.
I'm a little leery of that. People were pronouncing Federer back roughly once a week last year. For a tournament here or there and in certain matches, he can step up, but I don't think he's going to be able to keep a sustained push on throughout the year. It will be interesting to see if he can shift his thinking to aiming for a few big tournaments during the year and using a reduced schedule of smaller tournaments in between to stay sharp. If he tries to grind through a full schedule, I think we'll see him wear down again and more guys will push past him in the overall rankings.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
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