Melbourne gets ready for Swiss semis takeover
MELBOURNE: Stan Wawrinka delights in the fact that his favourite nickname, ‘Stanimal’, was given to him by Roger Federer, who he also admits is simply the greatest player to have picked up a tennis racquet. Together the Swiss duo teamed up to win an Olympic doubles gold at Beijing in 2008 and the country’s first and only Davis Cup triumph six years later.
On Thursday, however, their friendship will take a back seat when they walk out on Rod Laver Arena for an Australian Open semi-final that promises to be one of the highlights of the season-opening Grand Slam.
It will be the 22nd time the pair have met and Federer, back after six months out and shortening as the bookmaker’s favourite to capture his fifth Australian Open crown, has won 18 of the head-to-head match-ups.
He has also looked to be back to his best in beating 10th seed Tomas Berdych, fifth seed Kei Nishikori and then destroying Mischa Zverev, who had upended world No 1Andy Murray, in the quarterfinals.
While Wawrinka was won just three of their clashes, the 35-year-old Federer places no such stock in that statistic. All that matters is how his opponent pitches up in their next match.
And with someone like Wawrinka, the 17-time Grand Slam winner knows how much his 31-year-old compatriot has progressed since their first meeting indoors in Rotterdam in 2005.
Back then Wawrinka, he said, struggled with the faster surfaces. His footwork was not there. You could tell from the other side of the net that he did not enjoy playing on grass or hard courts.
So the younger Swiss did what anyone would do. He sought advice and Federer became a counsellor of sorts. Gradually, as the calls became less frequent, Federer realised that Wawrinka had ‘got it’.
“What I like with Stan is if I would tell him something, I felt like he was able to do it,” Federer said. “That showed me that he’s a great player, that he’s got a mind of somebody who understands what I’m trying to explain to him.”
Wawrinka’s transformation now includes three Grand Slam titles and while he typically has a downbeat approach to his matches, the world No 4 is confident he has the game to beat Federer. “He’s the best player of all time. He has answers for everything. But I managed to beat him in a Grand Slam, so we’ll see.”