ATP: Stan Wawrinka back in the qualifying rounds: “I still have many years ahead of me!”

Stan Wawrinka will return to the tour at the ATP tournament in Washington and herald the hard court season. The Swiss must take long-forgotten detours.

The early Wimbledon out for Stan Wawrinka is to be weighted negatively and positively in retrospect. After all, the Swiss made a coup in the first round when he kicked Grigor Dimitrov out of the tournament. However, the defeat in the qualifying round against Thomas Fabbinao showed that Wawrinka is still a long way from being with old forces.

“It was clear to me on the day of my knee surgery that it would take me more than a year to regain my old strength. When I made my comeback at the beginning of the year, I knew that I was not yet 100 percent fit. I am not dissatisfied with the results over the past weeks,” said the 33-year-old in an interview with 20 min.

After the lawn season, the shape curve should continue to rise. The first one is the three-time major winner at the ATP tournament in Washington: “I took a few days off and have been back in training for ten days – above all I’m working on my physique. Now I’m going to Washington.”

After the first test in Washington, the 33-year-old will go to the Rogers Cup in Toronto. This time, however, Wawrinka will have to adapt to a completely new environment, because the Swiss has to go through the qualification. Due to the long absence of the tour, “Stan the man” has dropped back to 201 and is no longer seeded.

“It will certainly be special, as I haven’t done it for a very, very long time. But right now I’m 201 and I have no problem with that,” continued Qualifier Wawrinka.

The big goal, however, is to participate in the US Open, which he won in 2016. A wild card could secure Wawrinka a place in the field – “Stanimal” doesn’t expect it: “No, I don’t expect a wild card. Just because I won there in 2016, I don’t have an easy time of it. But of course I hope so.”

In recent months there have been repeated speculations about the Swiss resigning. However, this is not an option for Wawrinka. The current season is a pure transitional phase, the man with the cracking backhand continues: “I want to play on the tour for a few more years. Whether it will be two, three, four or even five years depends on several factors”.