Tennis: “Stan Wawrinka showed that he still had the level”

In Belgrade, Stan Wawrinka ended his 2024 season as he started it in Melbourne: with a defeat. From the one against Adrian Mannarino at the Australian Open to the one against Laslo Djere on Tuesday, the Vaudois veteran ends his year with a record of ten victories for sixteen losses. By far not the vintage we hoped for.

“I wanted to thank you for the support for Stan throughout the year, in every corner of the world we visited. It was really incredible, greeted the Swede Magnus Norman, his long-time coach, in a story published on his Instagram account on Wednesday from Serbia. It’s obviously been a difficult year but in recent weeks, Stan has shown that he still has the level to compete with some of the best players in the world.

Lacking confidence in the first half of the season, the three-time Grand Slam winner had something of a breakthrough at the beginning of October, during the Asian tour.

Diligent and constant as he had not been for a long time in Shanghai, “Stan The Man” had tamed the future winner of the Basel tournament (Mpetshi Perricard) then lost in three sets against the Italian Cobolli after a big mistake. arbitration. “This defeat hurt,” said Magnus Norman on “X”. But the level of play and concentration were excellent. I’m proud of what I saw.”

It is with this newfound zest of confidence that the duo reached Stockholm. There, “Stanimal” reached the semifinals by winning three matches in a row, including the one against Rublev. “I always said that a match or two could change the level of confidence you have in yourself,” explained the Vaudois in the mixed zone to “Tennis Weekly”. I was missing a lot in the important areas for six months but I found a way to change that recently and it’s made a big difference.”

The oldest player on the circuit at almost 40 years old, Stan Wawrinka confirmed, in Sweden then in Basel, that he wanted to continue his career. He lost 100 places (editor’s note: from 49th to 148th) in a year but he knows the importance of the days and weeks ahead. This time last year, he suffered a serious ankle sprain. She had disrupted all his physical preparation and forced him to tinker in order to be able to go to Australia to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his coronation.

“We are very motivated to have a good preseason,” Magnus Norman wisely underlined in his video. We want to have a great year in 2025 and we have two months to prepare for it as best as possible.”