Last Dance In Dubai: Wawrinka On Beating GOATS In Grand Slam Finals

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Under a bright blue Dubai sky, Stan Wawrinka walked gingerly towards the mixed-media zone. Donning a customised white T-shirt bearing his moniker - Stan The Man - alongside the number 40 and a blue tennis ball, with the word LOVE teasing the eye from its centre, it felt as if he was serving at 40-love for one final piece of silverware.

At 40, Wawrinka has set the ball rolling on his farewell season, with fans rapturously cheering him on as he challenged younger rivals at the Australian Open, Rotterdam Open and Open Occitanie (France).

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In his heart, he wants to continue playing tennis forever. But he knows that no champion - not even Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer - has ever won a battle with age, which has, for the past couple of years, also made Novak Djokovic look utterly vulnerable.

But Wawrinka did something unfathomable for most, winning three Grand Slam titles in the golden era of tennis which saw Djokovic, Nadal and Federer taking the sport to new heights.

It's incredible that Wawrinka still managed to force his way into title deciders at the Australian Open, French Open and the US Open, picking up as many Slams as the more celebrated Andy Murray during that period.

While Murray grunted through his triumphs and heartbreaks, the tennis world was hypnotised by the grace of Wawrinka's shotmaking, especially that mesmeric one-handed backhand.

Now it's the UAE fans who have a golden chance to be a part of his swansong when he plays this week at the ATP 500 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, a tournament he won in 2016.

During an interview with Khaleej Times, the retiring Swiss tennis star opened up about the emotional support from fans during his final season, and his friendship with Federer.

Q. It's been quite an emotional journey for you in your final season. There was great support from fans when you played incredible five-set and four-set matches against younger rivals at the Australian Open...

For me, it's been great. The most important thing is to be competitive and play well because, first of all, I am still a competitor and I like to win. I want to push myself, and it's important that in my last year, I would like to be on a level which allows me to play some good matches. And that's what's been happening since the beginning of the year. I'm happy with the level, and I'm happy with the tournaments I have played. I'm happy and amazingly grateful for the wildcards I have received to play those tournaments, but also the support I have received from fans so far in Australia, France, and Rotterdam. So yeah, it's been super positive.

Q. Tennis fans in the UAE will also feel lucky to be part of your farewell journey. You won this tournament in 2016, it was an amazing final against Marcos Baghdatis. We don't know if you remember that incredible second set tie-break which you won 15-13...

Yeah, it was great. When I was younger, Dubai was always one of the best tournaments, high level, with top players playing. It was one of the tournaments that I always wanted to play. So to have the opportunity to play and win was really special. I had so much support from the fans, and that week had a great atmosphere. And of course, it was really big and important title for me. So I'm happy I can come back one last time. I'm grateful to have received the wildcard and to have this opportunity to play again here in Dubai.

Q. In that era that you played, it was completely dominated by the Big Three, and Murray extended it to the Big Four with his relentless consistency. In the middle of all that, you emerged and won those three Grand Slams, beating the world number one in each of those three finals (Nadal in the 2014 Australian Open, Djokovic in the 2015 French Open and Djokovic again in the 2016 US Open). How does it feel when you look back now?

Yeah, for me, I always been someone who thinks we were amazingly lucky to be part of this big Big Four era. There were incredibly high-level tennis players winning every single title that you can win in the tennis world. So it was the biggest challenge as a tennis player to come and face them. And I had the opportunity to face them so many times, I lost to them many times, but I also beat them a few times. So I am happy with what I could achieve.

Q. You were almost 28 when you won your first Grand Slam title. It's an inspiration not just for tennis players, but for people from all walks of life - that if you don't give up on your dreams, you can always achieve nice things in life.

Yeah, for me it's always been about pushing my own limit, always trying to achieve more without putting up any barriers. But without thinking too much about what I want to achieve. It was just about getting the best out of what I can. And sometimes it takes longer than it takes for other athletes. And that's the beauty of tennis. There is not a single path to your career. There is no one way to win slams or to be in the top 10; we all have different paths. We all have different ways and we all try to achieve the best that we can.

Q. Now, from Big Four or the Big Three, we have the Big Two - Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz is only 22, and he has already won seven Grand Slams. Someone like John McEnroe, one of the most iconic names in tennis history, managed to win seven Grand Slams in his whole career. But Alcaraz has already matched that number at 22, and Sinner has four slams at 24. How far can they go?

There is no limit for him and for Jannik. It's been amazing to watch the way they are playing, the level they have achieved already at such a young age. And as I said, there is no limit, and the future can tell how much they can achieve. As a tennis fan, I like to watch them play because the way they've been playing, they are always adding new things to their game.

Q. You also added an Olympic gold to your CV when you won it with Federer in doubles. And without you both, it's safe to say that Switzerland would not have won the Davis Cup final against France in 2014. Can you tell us about your friendship with Federer and his role in your career?

Everybody wants to know everything about Roger. We all feel lucky that he was on the (ATP) Tour (as a tennis player) for more than 20 years. So we all had the time to ask him questions and discover many things about tennis. I'm incredibly happy and lucky to have the time with him. When I arrived on the Tour, he was already at the top, I was younger than him. I was trying to achieve my own career, and I got so much help from him - and the fact that I was practising a lot with him, talking a lot about tennis. We played the Olympics together, something very special, and also the Davis Cup for so many years. So, of course, it was an amazing journey.

Q. But many fans feel your backhand was even better than his?

No, I don't think so (laughs).

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