Just shy of career Slam, Wawrinka has no grand plans

NEW YORK: Stan Wawrinka was about 2 1/2 hours removed from winning the US Open when he was presented with a question he probably was figuring would be coming. The gist: After adding this trophy to those from the Australian Open in 2014, and the French Open in 2015, is it time to focus on completing a career Grand Slam by winning Wimbledon in 2017?

Wawrinka ran his left hand through his hair, rubbed his eyes and smiled.

“So what? Are you saying next year I focus only on Wimbledon? There is no plan. The only plan is trying to push myself the maximum to be the best player I can,” Wawrinka said Sunday night. “I’m not good enough to start and say, ‘OK, I’m going to win a Grand Slam this year.’ No.”

Now, though, Wawrinka has won three majors over the past three seasons, pulling even with Andy Murray. Since the 2005 French Open, Federer, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have won 39 of 47 Grand Slam trophies. Only Wawrinka and Murray also have multiple titles in that span.

So it’s clear that the thirdranked Wawrinka now must be seen among the cream of the crop in men’s tennis and a threat at all big tournaments moving forward. He is, after all, 3-0 in major finals, and has won 11 consecutive finals overall.

“He hits a very heavy ball, espe- cially from the backhand corner. Forehand is very flat. You know, he goes for his shots from the forehand side. Backhand, you know, great chip, great slice. He uses that when he’s defending and then he comes up and can get you off the court with a backhand crosscourt. That’s probably one of the best shots in the game,” Djokovic said.