ATP: Stan Wawrinka is running out of time

Stan Wawrinka is working meticulously towards a comeback at the Australian Open. Whether the winner of 2014 will succeed is by no means certain.

Stan Wawrinka combines the best memories with the Australian Open. In 2014, the Swiss rider celebrated his first Grand Slam title in Melbourne, after an epic victory against Novak Djokovic at the beginning of the second week and the final act against Rafael Nadal.

So it’s no wonder that Wawrinka, who hasn’t played a match since the Wimbledon tournament, is doing everything he can to make a real comeback in Melbourne Park. But this is by no means certain, as the 32-year-old explained to the French newspaper Le Matin a few days ago.

“I still can’t score any points,” says Wawrinka, who coaches in Monte Carlo alongside other stars such as Novak Djokovic, Grigor Dimitrov and Tomas Berdych,”My goal is still to play at the Australian Open, get there a week before and train hard.

Stan Wawrinka has a semi-final to defend: At the beginning of 2017, he was defeated in five sets by Roger Federer in Melbourne in the semi-final round, and in Paris he even reached the final. Where Rafael Nadal proved too strong. However, these results mean that Wawrinka is still ranked among the world’s top ten professionals despite his six-month break, finishing in ninth place.

In ATP tournaments Wawrinka will not appear before the Australian Open. In the room there is a participation in the show fight in Abu Dhabi – but this starts on 28. December. Maybe too soon.

“In an interview with the Schweizer Tagesanzeiger in autumn, Wawrinka noted in an interview with the Schweizer Tagesanzeiger that he had lost quite a bit of muscle mass after the operation” And of course I have to observe the rest of my body, which has to get used to the changes again. In fact, I have to work hard, but in predetermined and very restricted ways.”