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Stan Wawrinka and a unique journey worth relishing
The 41-year-old Swiss legend received a standing ovation from the US Open crowd after losing the last Grand Slam match of his career
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Mumbai: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
It is a quote from a Samuel Beckett novella, Worstward Ho, that Stan Wawrinka had tattooed on his left arm in 2013. And it is perhaps the perfect way to sum up the career of the three-time Grand Slam champion, as he prepares to hang up his racquet at the end of the season.
On Monday night, 10 years after he triumphed at the US Open, the 41-year-old Swiss played his last Grand Slam match, losing 6-7(4), 6-7(3), 0-6 to Matteo Berrettini.
Deep Dive
There was some celebration at the end of the match with Wawrinka being honoured with a video montage and a specially made photo collection. And just days ago, it seemed Wawrinka would not be allowed to play in New York one final time as he had not been given a wild card.
While some of the biggest players and former Grand Slam winners were honoured with a chance to play their final match at one of the two show courts, Wawrinka’s tie against Berrettini took place on the 8125-seater Grandstand court – the third biggest stadium in the Billie Jean King Tennis Centre.
But the Swiss would have had it no other way. For this was the kind of courts he spent most of his career playing on.
The man from Lausanne comes from the same generation of men’s tennis as the Big 3. In the early stages though there was a danger that he would become one of the many who would fall by the wayside, despite having the tools and game to dominate – especially that awe-inspiring and powerful one-handed backhand.
But it turns out Wawrinka was just a late bloomer waiting for his moment. He learnt what it means to fail. And then fail again. And then fail better.
“I had lost a lot of matches in my career,” Wawrinka had said to The Times in 2016. “But I came to a deep realisation. Losing is a part of life. Nobody wins all the time. The question, then, is how do you react to defeat? Do you become demotivated and defensive? Or do you learn from it? A defeat is a huge opportunity to figure out how to become a better player. It is an opportunity to analyse. Instead of taking it badly, you can find new things to practise and better ways to adapt.”
“I may not have the same ability levels as the top four, but the only way I can reach my potential is by learning from defeats and being honest about my weaknesses.”
Playing at the same time the Big 3 were in their prime, Wawrinka challenged them, failed against them, and then beat them.
He beat Rafael Nadal in the final of the Australian Open in 2014 to win his first Grand Slam title. A year later, with Novak Djokovic in the form of his life, Wawrinka came from a set down to win the French Open final in 2015. And then he beat Djokovic again in a four-set final at the US Open a year later.
Each of his three Grand Slam titles came by beating the reigning world No.1 player at the time.
Wawrinka only got as high as world No.3 in his career, but there was no shortage of fanfare that followed him.
The ‘Stan the Man’ t-shirts were sold out as soon as they were put up on stands during the erstwhile ATP 250 Chennai Open, which he won four times. Some of those t-shirts were also visible from the Grandstand in New York on Monday.
The mood in the match against Berrettini was competitive, but there were also plenty of smiles, before, during and after the match.
“I am super grateful for the wild card because it was important for me to have the opportunity to finish playing all four Grand Slams here in New York,” Wawrinka said in his farewell speech on court. “I’m gonna miss it for sure. I’m gonna miss it big time.”
The standing ovation he received at the US Open came a few days after his compatriot Federer, with whom he won gold in men’s doubles at the 2008 Olympics, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Asked, during the post-match press conference, if he hopes to be in that list one day, Wawrinka said: “I never see it that way. I never try to do things for people to remember me in a certain way or a different way.”
And yet, he remained one of the most revered players on tour.
“It also shows me that maybe I did the right thing all those 20 years by always trying to give everything, always trying to fight, always showing up, always trying to do my best, and always trying to push my own limits in the sport,” he added.
At the entrance to the famous Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Wawrinka won his third Slam, is a quote attributed to Ashe, another three-time Grand Slam champion.
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
Wawrinka lived by that as well.
