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Will Wawrinka inspire more outsiders to crack the ATP elite?
24 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
You have to wonder if the sudden emergence of Stanislas Wawrinka will instill belief into a pool of ATP players who have never won a major title, to now believe that they can match what the Swiss veteran achieved in Melbourne last month.
Similar to how Michael Chang won the French Open in ’89 and how it inspired the other Americans like Agassi, Courier and Sampras, to believe inside, ‘Hey I can beat Michael Chang, I have beaten him before, if he can win a major then heck, so can I.’
Now that Wawrinka has made history, you have to think several other ATP players will not have a newly fortified self belief.
The first beneficiary who comes to mind for me is Richard Gasquet. Gasquet has beaten Wawrinka before and to see Wawrinka pummel Nadal in a major final has to be igniting the flowing Frenchman’s inner fires. Gasquet, who has struggled with Davis Cup pressures in the past, looked absolutely superb in the Davis Cup tie vs. Australia this weekend, pounding the dangerous upstart Nick Kyrgios in straight sets in the singles opener, but more impressively, dominating the doubles showdown with Tsonga to subdue the highly motivated tandem of Lleyton Hewitt and Chris Guccione from a one set deficit. At the end of the four set victory, Tsonga lifted the hero Gasquet aloft into the air, not disimilar to how the New York Giants uprasied their mastermind coach Bill Parcells.
Tomas Berdych is another major contender who should step up now, as he also has multiple wins over Wawrinka. Berdych has played in a major final before and won two Davis Cups for Czech Republic. Perhaps Wawrinka’s triumph will give him that little extra boost to go all the way later this year at Wimbledon or New York.
Undoubtedly, Wawrinka’s conquest of Australia is going to alter the ATP hierarchy and the psychological structure of certain players. Just how exactly things will subsequently shake out this year and next will be a most compelling feature for following professional tennis which very well man indeed be about to enter into a brand new era…
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Abe Froman · February 4, 2014 at 10:12 am
scoop, as much as i like stan’s game – he’ll probably be a 1-slam wonder. he had an incredible ‘in the zone’ tournament / performance however imo – you put too much emphasis on the intangibles of a player….yes, it does affect the dynamics of a match / tournament however only on occasion does it outweigh the meat and potatoes of reality.
Scoop Malinowski · February 4, 2014 at 10:22 am
Abe, I saw the crowd support and wave change the fortunes of Gaston Gaudio in the French Open final. I saw the French fans turn on Hingis and heckle and jeer her from a sure victory to defeat vs. Graf. I saw the fans boo Nadal which devastated his concentration and intensity vs. Wawrinka. I saw the spectacular success of Marcelo Rios inspired greatness from Nicolas Massu and Fernando Gonzalez. There are many other examples. Intangibles can and do make a difference. I think Wawrinka’s performance has the potential to alter the destinies of a few if not several players including Tsonga Monfils Harrison Dimitrov Raonic Sock Dolgopolov Nishikori Busta Carrena Pospisil Gasquet Kyrgios Cilic etc. We’ll see…
CS3 · February 4, 2014 at 12:15 pm
Stan’s win in Australia was more the exception to the norm IMO… It does however have potential to give other players in or around the top 10-15 range belief that they can win the biggest matches & events as well… The talent pool is beginning to deepen & the difference between the world’s best & the rest is starting to decrease… When it comes down to it though, Rafa, Novak & Murray in particular the first 2 in that list are still clearly THE CLASS of the sport & figure to win a majority of the biggest titles… I just think we may start to see other guys get their occasional piece of the pie as well!
Abe Froman · February 4, 2014 at 12:26 pm
definitely inspirational. let’s see who can wake up from these recent developments and turn it into reality ! i personally would like to see haas on top once (fat chance) but definitely – no american (US born, excludes haas) will win a GS in this decade.
Mitch · February 4, 2014 at 1:05 pm
I was going to say that Del Potro breaking through didn’t really change anything, but he was closer to the big 4 to begin with and didn’t have atrocious head to heads.
Hartt · February 4, 2014 at 1:15 pm
Scoop, hope you’re right about the players you mention in your original post and in the comments section now having a chance to win a major title in the next year or two. (And would add Delpo to that list if he ever manages to be free of injury.)Although I admire the skills of the top players who have dominated tennis for many years, would like to see other players in the mix. It’s just not as interesting to watch a tourney when we have a very good idea who will be in the semis and finals of a tournament before it even begins. At least at the Aussie Open there were Berdych and Wawrinka in the SF in addition to Wawrinka’s win.
The big concern for the players right now is injury – sometimes it seems like there are more injured players than uninjured. So for the players who are knocking on the door of a big win, a relatively healthy season is crucial.
Gaurang · February 4, 2014 at 8:21 pm
Nice one Scoop. Yes, I am also looking forward to some interesting developments. Else tennis had got a little boring with seeing the same 4 players in the tail ends of every tournament. I would also like to see Stan’s victory inspire some other folks in the top 15 to go the extra distance.
Thomas Tung · February 4, 2014 at 9:57 pm
It’d be fun to see Berdych win a slam, but every time I watch Birdman play Wawrinka, I get the impression that Stan can easily handle the Czech’s power game with his own power game (9-5 HtH record in favor of Stan). Kind of like how Soderling wasn’t impressed by Berdych’s power (because he had plenty of his own, and knew how to deal with that).
Scoop Malinowski · February 5, 2014 at 8:33 am
The return of Thomas Tung 🙂 Welcome back TT. Can’t rule out Berdych winning a major, he’s so so close. But then again it’s hard to see him winning seven matches with his high risk go for it style. Hard to keep up that game for seven matches, especially against the elite players at the end of the second week. Hope Stan’s success sparks something in Berd who may be that one little intangible away from the career defining major triumph.
Scoop Malinowski · February 5, 2014 at 8:36 am
Hartt, if Stan’s win does not infuse new players into the mix now, with newfound believe, then the domination by the fantastic four may continue for years to come. Stan should be the cue for them to step it up now.
Scoop Malinowski · February 5, 2014 at 8:38 am
Abe, I just can’t see Haas challenging, he can make second week. At 35 36 he needs a lot of luck. His play seems to be down this year too compared to last year. Dolgopolov has been a disappointment so far this year, two first round losses in a row under new coach Santoro, losing to Monfils and Gimeno Traver in Chile.
Scoop Malinowski · February 5, 2014 at 8:40 am
Mitch; Del Potro was not a complete shock like Wawrinka’s first major was. Del Potro was actually predicted pre-tournament by Pancho Segura to be the winner. I don’t think any pundit or expert predicted Stan was going to win Australia, but I have to admit I do not know who Segura’s pick was for Melbourne this year. Dan knows Pancho’s son Spencer from Yoga maybe Dan can find out who Pancho picked.
Abe Froman · February 5, 2014 at 10:36 am
scoop, yes it will be tricky for haas but if he’s healthy and playing well – he’s 2 matches away in the second week of a slam for potential glory…..regardless, any 1-hander in the winner’s circle on final sunday is / will be refreshing. who are some of your favorite backhands ?….mine are :
fed, haas, wawa, gasquet, kohl, robredo
and
safin, nalby, any other 2handers ?
Scoop Malinowski · February 5, 2014 at 2:25 pm
I like any one hander Abe, Hanescu, F Lopez too.
Gaurang · February 5, 2014 at 6:10 pm
I dont see Berdych winning. He could beat Murray and Fed, but not Nadal or Djokovic.
I think Delpo can beat all of the Big Four. I think Tsonga could do so too. Probably Ferrer could make it a fight. If Soderling returns, I think he will one of these guys who can potentially beat the Big Four.
Scoop Malinowski · February 5, 2014 at 6:21 pm
Tsonga can’t beat all the big four. He can’t beat Djokovic and Nadal when it really counts. Has a hard time with Murray too Gaurang. It’s hard to see Berdych going all the way, but it was hard seeing Stan going all the way too.
gustarhymes · February 6, 2014 at 8:29 am
New players will win majors because the big 4 are getting past the prime period when you look at age. Stan’s victory was still lucky because he had a walkover, a retirement, and an extra day of rest and an injured Nadal in the final; contrary to the garbage that Scoop believes and writes.
Historically walkovers help players win majors. A young player should win a major next year definitely. Whether it be Dmitrov or Krygios or Kokkinakis or someone from out of nowhere remains to be seen. Or a veteran will have a one slam wonder.
Gusta
Abe Froman · February 6, 2014 at 10:44 am
scoop, not sure i like flo’s bh though….a bit rigid compared to his serve and net game….how about that sela bro; knocked out rosol….mazel tov dudi !!…..in terms of the batch of young guns for GS glory – imo, only dimi, kei, milo would even have a sniff at a GS final at this point. unfortunately, no american or israeli player will win a GS this decade (or even two decades, if i may be so bold). LOL
Scoop Malinowski · February 6, 2014 at 7:03 pm
Gus, I believe Rafa fakes injuries when he’s losing in a big match at times and takes advantage of the rules. I have seen him call injury, ice the match and opponents, then resume the match like gangbusters. No sign of ANY INNJURY. The Aussie crowd obviously didn’t believe him this time and booed him vociferously. Faking injuries is certainly part of the game and it’s not unfair, tennis is a mindgame of psyche warfare just like boxing and pretending you’re hurt, many great champs have done this to trick their opponent and lead them to a false sense of security. Nadal did it too many times and won too many matches after doing it. I’m glad it worked out the way it did for Stan he certainly deserved the win for the way he bashed Rafa in the first set.
Scoop Malinowski · February 6, 2014 at 7:06 pm
That’s right Sela has a beautiful one hander, big win for him I like his game and he gave me a cool Biofile. He also talked with me for my upcoming Facing Hewitt book. Dude is one of those great players who just disappears for long stretches but he’s had some nice wins in his career especially in Davis Cup.
Andrew Miller · February 6, 2014 at 9:01 pm
Wawrinka earned it. Nadal injury was Wawrinka reward for exceptional work since 2012 at least. You can’t choose your opponent or anything else in a final. If you make it happen it makes sense the stars align in your favor even if you have never beat the player on the flip side of the net. Look at Ivanisevic
gustarhymes · February 10, 2014 at 7:50 pm
Scoop, you and Dan are the only “journalists” who says Rafa faked anything. Most experts said he was not running full speed and couldn’t cover the court; back injuries can do that. What were you watching?
If you listened to the transcript of the post match interviews, Rafa tweeked something in the warmup. I believe him. He wouldn’t lose to Wawrinka otherwise. Again Stan won’t win another major, and that will prove what I’m saying. Again, Rafa played tough earlier rounds because he played more defense than he should have because he couldn’t hit at well with the blister and bandage on his hand. His team did him in by not wrapping it properly in the Nishikori and Dmitrov matches. They should have used the dot shape sticky bandage like they did in the Fed match. Very amateurish mistakes IMO. I could have told them that! Oh yeah, it’s sort of an area of expertise of mine!
Now, are you going to refute that the walkover, the retirement and extra day of rest were not helpful? Again, I will bet you Stan does not win another major. He got lucky.
At Dan, who loves to make steroid accusations; since David Ferrer being under suspicion puts Rafa under suspicion, does Troicki’s suspension put Djokovic under suspicion? Does Stan’s acne and sudden emergence put him under suspicion? HMMMM?
Gusta
Scoop Malinowski · February 11, 2014 at 8:28 am
Gustar; I don’t know for certain if he was faking but I believe he was a hundred percent faking it based on the situation and his reputation for faking injuires in the past when losing big matches in order to ice the opponent and change the rhythm and momentum of a match. If Rafa was hurt in the warm up why didn’t he call the timeout in the warmup and get medical attention to repair the “injury” before it got worse? He fought hard in the first set but got outplayed. Then was being outplayed in the second, to go down a break. Then that’s when he suddenly decides to make the “injury” known. The crowd didn’t believe it and booed him when he returned to the court shirtless with his game face on after running off the court for medical help. Yes Rafa ran off the court to get help for a back injury. After getting booed Rafa was bothered by it and had to maintain the illusion of an injury to mess with Stan’s head and to save face with the fans who booed him. Yes, given Rafa’s history and reputation I believe a hundred percent he faked it. But the plan backfired big time when the suspicious and doubtful fans booed him. I think it’s possible he pulled out of Argentina because he didn’t want to play there. I still have full respect for Rafa despite this episode. Mind games and gamesmanship are parts of tennis, always have been and always will be. I actually enjoy this part of the game very much but it’s unfortunate for Rafa’s victims who have been iced by his injury timeouts after outplaying and beating him.
Abe Froman · February 11, 2014 at 11:55 am
i agree mostly with gustar however scoop has a point as well……a great champ like rafa has gotta despise losing, esp. to stan who he’s owned. unfortunately on this occasion, his back wasnt a 100% and so he tried to use that to slow down stan; the 1-slam wonder. stan was definitely a bit lucky to pull the AO out and i would expect a little more from rafa then to pull a chicken shit tactic like that but what the hell – tennis is mostly for touchy egotistical bitches anyway…LOL