[Blog] What to Expect from Stan Wawrinka in 2015?

[August]

Here's a blog post about what to expect from Wawrinka this year.

 

[Kieran]

Good blog post, August!

I agree with you, Stan will be top 8 at the end of the year. I actually think he'll have a good run in Oz but basically be back to his 2013 level of being beaten down by the top players...

 

[tented]

Thanks for your contribution, August -- Tennis Frontier's newest blogger!

 

[August]

Good blog post, August!

I agree with you, Stan will be top 8 at the end of the year. I actually think he'll have a good run in Oz but basically be back to his 2013 level of being beaten down by the top players...

While all of Djokovic, Nadal, and Murray are younger than Wawrinka, I feel Stan is closer to them all but Djokovic than two years ago. Both Nadal and Murray have showed signs of decline whereas Stan hasn't. Only Djokovic hasn't shown major signs of decline, he's still on the same post-2011 level. But now Stan is facing stronger opposition than in 2013 & '14 from younger players like Nishikori, Raonic, and Dimitrov. Will be interesting to see if Stan can finish the year ahead of those guys.

 

[herios]

Good blog post, August!

I agree with you, Stan will be top 8 at the end of the year. I actually think he'll have a good run in Oz but basically be back to his 2013 level of being beaten down by the top players...

While all of Djokovic, Nadal, and Murray are younger than Wawrinka, I feel Stan is closer to them all but Djokovic than two years ago. Both Nadal and Murray have showed signs of decline whereas Stan hasn't. Only Djokovic hasn't shown major signs of decline, he's still on the same post-2011 level. But now Stan is facing stronger opposition than in 2013 & '14 from younger players like Nishikori, Raonic, and Dimitrov. Will be interesting to see if Stan can finish the year ahead of those guys.

I also expect Stan to remain in the top 8, but I think he could do better than ranked 8. For the time being he could slip hard though, if he loses to Novak in the SF. He could slip as low as 9-10 right away.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

My question about Stan is regarding his motivation and hunger. He has not been the most consistent player throughout his career and now with a Slam and a DC title under his belt, what is driving him? How bad does he want to win more?

 

[August]

My question about Stan is regarding his motivation and hunger. He has not been the most consistent player throughout his career and now with a Slam and a DC title under his belt, what is driving him? How bad does he want to win more?

I'm not worried about his motivation, at least yet. He has all the chances to succeed this year, even win another slam. Surely that should motivate, and now he can play with less pressure on succeeding, he can fall out of the top 20 but he'll still be a slam champ.

But if his game declined and his ranking dropped, then I could see him not necessarily having the hunger to fight himself back to top, especially as it'd be difficult at his age.

 

[Riotbeard]

Great blog August! I agree I think Stan will cement himself as a player at the wtf, but not duplicate 2014. I could see him snatching a masters or even the wtf assuming he makes it.

 

[isabelle]

Hope Stanimal won't lose too many points. It'll be dififcult for him to play as well as in 2014. I'll support him anyway

 

[sid]

I feel Stan going down the rankings(2015),last year Stan was amazing what he did.

 

[herios]

So far, he looks highly motivated and did well.
With his SF run, already will be closing the first month in the top 3 in the ATP race (2015), because he also won a title (250), which none of the other 3 SF at the AO did.
Even though he may lose in the SF, his drop in ranking will be temporary, IMO.

 

[August]

So far, he looks highly motivated and did well.
With his SF run, already will be closing the first month in the top 3 in the ATP race (2015), because he also won a title (250), which none of the other 3 SF at the AO did.
Even though he may lose in the SF, his drop in ranking will be temporary, IMO.

A quick calculation, he'll be #9 if he doesn't win the SF. But he has nothing to defend at Rotterdam and Marseille, so should be back to top 8 by IW.

 

[herios]

So far, he looks highly motivated and did well.
With his SF run, already will be closing the first month in the top 3 in the ATP race (2015), because he also won a title (250), which none of the other 3 SF at the AO did.
Even though he may lose in the SF, his drop in ranking will be temporary, IMO.

A quick calculation, he'll be #9 if he doesn't win the SF. But he has nothing to defend at Rotterdam and Marseille, so should be back to top 8 by IW.

Especially considering that Cilic is ahead of him in LIVE ranking by only 15 points and Marin could be out for a few more weeks

 

[nehmeth]

So far, he looks highly motivated and did well.
With his SF run, already will be closing the first month in the top 3 in the ATP race (2015), because he also won a title (250), which none of the other 3 SF at the AO did.
Even though he may lose in the SF, his drop in ranking will be temporary, IMO.

A quick calculation, he'll be #9 if he doesn't win the SF. But he has nothing to defend at Rotterdam and Marseille, so should be back to top 8 by IW.

He'll be #9 on Monday. I was not impressed by what we saw from him (or Novak for that matter). He has a good coach who will help him choose the right spots where he can pick up points. With this loss let's hope he is hungrier and more motivated.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

My question about Stan is regarding his motivation and hunger. He has not been the most consistent player throughout his career and now with a Slam and a DC title under his belt, what is driving him? How bad does he want to win more?

I'm not worried about his motivation, at least yet. He has all the chances to succeed this year, even win another slam. Surely that should motivate, and now he can play with less pressure on succeeding, he can fall out of the top 20 but he'll still be a slam champ.

But if his game declined and his ranking dropped, then I could see him not necessarily having the hunger to fight himself back to top, especially as it'd be difficult at his age.

From his presser today:

" It was mentally that I think I'm paying off the price to finish off the season with Davis Cup, not having a bigger off-season, trying to focus really well to start well the year with winning Chennai and being here trying to do the best. I told my coach before the match and already yesterday that I was mentally completely dead and no battery. Tough to focus on what I want to do. Tough to focus on my game. And that's what happened today."

He has to get it back together soon.

 

[isabelle]

So far, he looks highly motivated and did well.
With his SF run, already will be closing the first month in the top 3 in the ATP race (2015), because he also won a title (250), which none of the other 3 SF at the AO did.
Even though he may lose in the SF, his drop in ranking will be temporary, IMO.

A quick calculation, he'll be #9 if he doesn't win the SF. But he has nothing to defend at Rotterdam and Marseille, so should be back to top 8 by IW.

He'll be #9 on Monday. I was not impressed by what we saw from him (or Novak for that matter). He has a good coach who will help him choose the right spots where he can pick up points. With this loss let's hope he is hungrier and more motivated.

Cilic pulled out of Zagreb so Stanimal"ll be N°8 on Monday 10th

 

[herios]

A quick calculation, he'll be #9 if he doesn't win the SF. But he has nothing to defend at Rotterdam and Marseille, so should be back to top 8 by IW.

He'll be #9 on Monday. I was not impressed by what we saw from him (or Novak for that matter). He has a good coach who will help him choose the right spots where he can pick up points. With this loss let's hope he is hungrier and more motivated.

Cilic pulled out of Zagreb so Stanimal"ll be N°8 on Monday 10th

I was expecting Stan to pass Marin Cilic, even if the croat was going to start playing, in other words, would have been tough for him to defend his title in Zagreb after such a long absence.